| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Philosophy 4 by Owen Wister: were their bodies of yesterday's dust. The dates and doctrines, hastily
memorized to rattle off upon the great occasion, lay only upon the
surface of their minds, and after use they quickly evaporated. To their
pleasure and most genuine astonishment, the Professor paid them high
compliments. Bertie's discussion of the double personality had been the
most intelligent which had come in from any of the class. The
illustration of the intoxicated hack-driver who had fallen from his hack
and inquired who it was that had fallen, and then had pitied himself,
was, said the Professor, as original and perfect an illustration of our
subjective-objectivity as he had met with in all his researches. And
Billy's suggestions concerning the inherency of time and space in the
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Father Sergius by Leo Tolstoy: ought to accede to the woman's request and that her faith might
save her son. As for himself, he would in this case be but an
insignificant instrument chosen by God.
And going out to the mother he did what she asked--laid his hand
on the boy's head and prayed.
The mother left with her son, and a month later the boy
recovered, and the fame of the holy healing power of the starets
Sergius (as they now called him) spread throughout the whole
district. After that, not a week passed without sick people
coming, riding or on foot, to Father Sergius; and having acceded
to one petition he could not refuse others, and he laid his hands
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from St. Ives by Robert Louis Stevenson: tell you, he has for some time made it his business to keep M. de
Keroual informed of your career; with what purpose I leave you to
judge. When he first brought the news of your - that you were
serving Buonaparte, it seemed it might be the death of the old
gentleman, so hot was his resentment. But from one thing to
another, matters have a little changed. Or I should rather say,
not a little. We learned you were under orders for the Peninsula,
to fight the English; then that you had been commissioned for a
piece of bravery, and were again reduced to the ranks. And from
one thing to another (as I say), M. de Keroual became used to the
idea that you were his kinsman and yet served with Buonaparte, and
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