| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from A Sentimental Journey by Laurence Sterne: and more have unpeopled her dominion of the slaves of love, she re-
peoples it with slaves of infidelity, - and then with the slaves of
the church.
Madame de V- was vibrating betwixt the first of those epochas: the
colour of the rose was fading fast away; - she ought to have been a
deist five years before the time I had the honour to pay my first
visit.
She placed me upon the same sofa with her, for the sake of
disputing the point of religion more closely. - In short Madame de
V- told me she believed nothing. - I told Madame de V- it might be
her principle, but I was sure it could not be her interest to level
|
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Chance by Joseph Conrad: grabbing the bottle as Powell expected, this hand, tremulous with
senile eagerness, swerved to the glass, rested on its edge for a
moment (or so it looked from above) and went back with a jerk. The
gripping fingers of the other hand vanished at the same time, and
young Powell staring at the motionless curtains could indulge for a
moment the notion that he had been dreaming.
But that notion did not last long. Powell, after repressing his
first impulse to spring for the companion and hammer at the
captain's door, took steps to have himself relieved by the
boatswain. He was in a state of distraction as to his feelings and
yet lucid as to his mind. He remained on the skylight so as to keep
Chance |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from A Daughter of Eve by Honore de Balzac: know how those flowers of luxury had been originally paid for. It was
agreed that a few little necessary articles should be left, for
Florine's personal convenience until evening,--her bed, a table, a few
chairs, and china enough to give her guests their breakfast.
Having gone to sleep beneath the draperies of wealth and luxury, these
distinguished men awoke to find themselves within bare walls, full of
nail-holes, degraded into abject poverty.
"Why, Florine!--The poor girl has been seized for debt!" cried Bixiou,
who was one of the guests. "Quick! a subscription for her!"
On this they all roused up. Every pocket was emptied and produced a
total of thirty-seven francs, which Raoul carried in jest to Florine's
|
