| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Collection of Antiquities by Honore de Balzac: coming struggle. Chesnel's prolonged scrutiny of consciences, given in
a condensed form, will perhaps serve as a picture of the judicial
world in a country town.
Magistrates and officials generally are obliged to begin their career
in the provinces; judicial ambition there ferments. At the outset
every man looks towards Paris; they all aspire to shine in the vast
theatre where great political causes come before the courts, and the
higher branches of the legal profession are closely connected with the
palpitating interests of society. But few are called to that paradise
of the man of law, and nine-tenths of the profession are bound sooner
or later to regard themselves as shelved for good in the provinces.
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Ball at Sceaux by Honore de Balzac: of fancy had not the most amiable temper, a fine figure, intelligence,
and, above all, if he were not slender. To be lean, a personal grace
which is but fugitive, especially under a representative government,
was an indispensable condition. Mademoiselle de Fontaine had an ideal
standard which was to be the model. A young man who at the first
glance did not fulfil the requisite conditions did not even get a
second look.
"Good Heavens! see how fat he is!" was with her the utmost expression
of contempt.
To hear her, people of respectable corpulence were incapable of
sentiment, bad husbands, and unfit for civilized society. Though it is
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Road to Oz by L. Frank Baum: were seated in the grandstand, the Wizard skillfully performed some
feats of juggling glass balls and lighted candles. He tossed a dozen
or so of them high in the air and caught them one by one as they came
down, without missing any.
Then he introduced the Scarecrow, who did a sword-swallowing act that
aroused much interest. After this the Tin Woodman gave an exhibition
of Swinging the Axe, which he made to whirl around him so rapidly that
the eye could scarcely follow the motion of the gleaming blade.
Glinda the Sorceress then stepped upon the platform, and by her magic
made a big tree grow in the middle of the space, made blossoms appear
upon the tree, and made the blossoms become delicious fruit called
The Road to Oz |
