| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Facino Cane by Honore de Balzac: you be my guide? Will you put faith in me? You shall be richer than
ten of the richest houses in Amsterdam or London, richer than
Rothschild; in short, you shall have the fabulous wealth of the
/Arabian Nights/."
The man was mad, I thought; but in his voice there was a potent
something which I obeyed. I allowed him to lead, and he went in the
direction of the Fosses de la Bastille, as if he could see; walking
till he reached a lonely spot down by the river, just where the bridge
has since been built at the junction of the Canal Saint-Martin and the
Seine. Here he sat down on a stone, and I, sitting opposite to him,
saw the old man's hair gleaming like threads of silver in the
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Water-Babies by Charles Kingsley: very much frightened: and no wonder. But that was all. The boy
had taken nothing in the room; by the mark of his little sooty
feet, they could see that he had never been off the hearthrug till
the nurse caught hold of him. It was all a mistake.
So Sir John told Grimes to go home, and promised him five shillings
if he would bring the boy quietly up to him, without beating him,
that he might be sure of the truth. For he took for granted, and
Grimes too, that Tom had made his way home.
But no Tom came back to Mr. Grimes that evening; and he went to the
police-office, to tell them to look out for the boy. But no Tom
was heard of. As for his having gone over those great fells to
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Meno by Plato: MENO: I think not, Socrates.
SOCRATES: Then he was the better for the torpedo's touch?
MENO: I think so.
SOCRATES: Mark now the farther development. I shall only ask him, and not
teach him, and he shall share the enquiry with me: and do you watch and
see if you find me telling or explaining anything to him, instead of
eliciting his opinion. Tell me, boy, is not this a square of four feet
which I have drawn?
BOY: Yes.
SOCRATES: And now I add another square equal to the former one?
BOY: Yes.
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