| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Purse by Honore de Balzac: all the radiance of her beauty and all the triumph of her life,
she suffered, at the cost of her heart and her sweet illusions,
the disenchantment which falls on us so slowly and yet so
quickly--for we try to postpone as long as possible our belief in
evil, and it seems to come too soon--that day was a whole age of
reflection, and it was also a day of religious thought and
resignation. She refused the alms of the man who had betrayed
her, renounced the world, and made a glory of her shame. She gave
herself up entirely to her motherly love, seeking in it all her
joys in exchange for the social pleasures to which she bid
farewell. She lived by work, saving up a treasure for her son.
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy: at the scene, had not his advent coincided with the
discussion on corn and bread, in which event this history
had never been enacted. But the subject seemed to arrest
him, and he whispered some inquiries of the other
bystanders, and remained listening.
When he heard Henchard's closing words, "It can't be done,"
he smiled impulsively, drew out his pocketbook, and wrote
down a few words by the aid of the light in the window. He
tore out the leaf, folded and directed it, and seemed about
to throw it in through the open sash upon the dining-table;
but, on second thoughts, edged himself through the
The Mayor of Casterbridge |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Malbone: An Oldport Romance by Thomas Wentworth Higginson: All his career in life had been a solid progress, and his
boldest speculations seemed securer than the legitimate
business of less potent financiers. Beginning business life by
peddling gingerbread on a railway train, he had developed such
a genius for railway management as some men show for chess or
for virtue; and his accumulating property had the momentum of a
planet.
He had read a good deal at odd times, and had seen a great deal
of men. His private morals were unstained, he was equable and
amiable, had strong good sense, and never got beyond his depth.
He had travelled in Europe and brought home many statistics,
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