| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Silas Marner by George Eliot: "Mr. Winthrop, if you'll bring me any proof as I'm in the wrong,
I'm not the man to say I won't alter. But there's people set up
their own ears for a standard, and expect the whole choir to follow
'em. There may be two opinions, I hope."
"Aye, aye," said Mr. Macey, who felt very well satisfied with this
attack on youthful presumption; "you're right there, Tookey:
there's allays two 'pinions; there's the 'pinion a man has of
himsen, and there's the 'pinion other folks have on him. There'd be
two 'pinions about a cracked bell, if the bell could hear itself."
"Well, Mr. Macey," said poor Tookey, serious amidst the general
laughter, "I undertook to partially fill up the office of
Silas Marner |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Breaking Point by Mary Roberts Rinehart: house and the old life.
Through a side window as he went toward the street he could see
Reynolds at his desk in the office, and he was possessed by a
fierce jealousy and resentment at his presence there. The
laboratory window was dark, and he stood outside and looked at it.
He would have given his hope of immortality just then to have been
inside it once more, working over his tubes and his cultures, his
slides and microscope. Even the memory of certain dearly-bought
extravagances in apparatus revived in him, and sent the blood to
his head in a wave of unreasoning anger and bitterness.
He had a wild desire to go in at the front door, confront Reynolds
The Breaking Point |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from La Grande Breteche by Honore de Balzac: that he could always find purchasers for what might be left. It was
this circumstance which suggested the plan he carried out.
" 'Gorenflot is here, sir,' said Rosalie in a whisper.
" 'Tell him to come in,' said her master aloud.
"Madame de Merret turned paler when she saw the mason.
" 'Gorenflot,' said her husband, 'go and fetch some bricks from the
coach-house; bring enough to wall up the door of this cupboard; you
can use the plaster that is left for cement.' Then, dragging Rosalie
and the workman close to him--'Listen, Gorenflot,' said he, in a low
voice, 'you are to sleep here to-night; but to-morrow morning you
shall have a passport to take you abroad to a place I will tell you
La Grande Breteche |
