| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Vicar of Tours by Honore de Balzac: the poor dumbfounded priest was quite incapable of imagining, and
which she now proceeded to unfold with that genius for little things
often shown by solitary persons, whose souls, incapable of feeling the
grandeur of true piety, fling themselves into the details of outward
devotion.
The petty nature of his troubles prevented Birotteau, always effusive
and liking to be pitied and consoled, from enjoying the soothing
pleasure of taking his friends into his confidence,--a last but cruel
aggravation of his misery. The little amount of tact which he derived
from his timidity made him fear to seem ridiculous in concerning
himself with such pettiness. And yet those petty things made up the
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Catherine de Medici by Honore de Balzac: compromised themselves are poor gentlemen, artisans, as to whom it
doesn't signify whether you hang them or let them live. The Colignys
and Condes do not show their hand as yet, though they hold the threads
of the whole conspiracy."
"Yes," replied the duke, "and, therefore, as soon as that lawyer
Avenelles sold the secret of the plot, I told Braguelonne to let the
conspirators carry it out. They have no suspicion that we know it;
they are so sure of surprising us that the leaders may possibly show
themselves then. My advice is to allow ourselves to be beaten for
forty-eight hours."
"Half an hour would be too much," cried the cardinal, alarmed.
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Records of a Family of Engineers by Robert Louis Stevenson: completed in one day. This, as a matter of course, produced
three hearty cheers. At twelve noon prayers were read for the
first time on the Bell Rock; those present, counting thirty,
were crowded into the upper apartment of the beacon, where the
writer took a central position, while two of the artificers,
joining hands, supported the Bible.
[Friday, 25th Aug.]
To-day the artificers laid forty-five stones, which
completed the twenty-fourth course, reckoning above the first
entire one, and the twenty-sixth above the rock. This
finished the solid part of the building, and terminated the
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