| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Secret Sharer by Joseph Conrad: wretch by the throat? I don't know what I could have done
next moment if I had not seen the steward come out of my room,
close the door, and then stand quietly by the sideboard.
"Saved," I thought. "But, no! Lost! Gone! He was gone!"
I laid my knife and fork down and leaned back in my chair. My head swam.
After a while, when sufficiently recovered to speak in a steady voice,
I instructed my mate to put the ship round at eight o'clock himself.
"I won't come on deck," I went on. "I think I'll turn in, and unless
the wind shifts I don't want to be disturbed before midnight.
I feel a bit seedy."
"You did look middling bad a little while ago," the chief mate remarked
The Secret Sharer |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Critias by Plato: accepted the tale of the Island of Atlantis. In modern times we hardly
seek for traces of the submerged continent; but even Mr. Grote is inclined
to believe in the Egyptian poem of Solon of which there is no evidence in
antiquity; while others, like Martin, discuss the Egyptian origin of the
legend, or like M. de Humboldt, whom he quotes, are disposed to find in it
a vestige of a widely-spread tradition. Others, adopting a different vein
of reflection, regard the Island of Atlantis as the anticipation of a still
greater island--the Continent of America. 'The tale,' says M. Martin,
'rests upon the authority of the Egyptian priests; and the Egyptian priests
took a pleasure in deceiving the Greeks.' He never appears to suspect that
there is a greater deceiver or magician than the Egyptian priests, that is
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Paz by Honore de Balzac: our century," said the countess. "Dante and Michael Angelo are in
him."
"That's the very truth," cried Adam. "He is a poet in soul."
"So here I am, married to two Poles," said the young countess, with a
gesture worthy of some genius of the stage.
"Dear child!" said Adam, pressing her to him, "it would have made me
very unhappy if my friend did not please you. We were both rather
afraid of it, he and I, though he was delighted at my marriage. You
will make him very happy if you tell him that you love him,--yes, as
an old friend."
"I'll go and dress, the day is so fine; and we will all three ride
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