| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad: almost certain that he did! Poor beggar! It struck him as very
possible that of that household of two it wasn't precisely the man
who was the devil.
Alexander Ossipon, nicknamed the Doctor, was naturally inclined to
think indulgently of his men friends. He eyed Mrs Verloc hanging
on his arm. Of his women friends he thought in a specially
practical way. Why Mrs Verloc should exclaim at his knowledge of
Mr Verloc's death, which was no guess at all, did not disturb him
beyond measure. They often talked like lunatics. But he was
curious to know how she had been informed. The papers could tell
her nothing beyond the mere fact: the man blown to pieces in
The Secret Agent |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Democracy In America, Volume 1 by Alexis de Toqueville: with the promptitude and the tenacity of a single man.
It is difficult to say what degree of exertion a democratic
government may be capable of making a crisis in the history of
the nation. But no great democratic republic has hitherto
existed in the world. To style the oligarchy which ruled over
France in 1793 by that name would be to offer an insult to the
republican form of government. The United States afford the
first example of the kind.
The American Union has now subsisted for half a century, in
the course of which time its existence has only once been
attacked, namely, during the War of Independence. At the
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Message by Honore de Balzac: glow of autumn color. Her eyes were red and swollen, nothing of
their beauty remained, nothing looked out of them save her bitter
and exceeding grief; it was as if a gray cloud covered the place
through which the sun had shone.
I gave her the story of the accident in a few words, without
laying too much stress on some too harrowing details. I told her
about our first day's journey, and how it had been filled with
recollections of her and of love. And she listened eagerly,
without shedding a tear, leaning her face towards me, as some
zealous doctor might lean to watch any change in a patient's
face. When she seemed to me to have opened her whole heart to
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