| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Soul of a Bishop by H. G. Wells: minor interests were as unbroken as they had been before ever the
vision shone. Was it credible that there had ever been such a
vision in a life so entirely dictated by immediacy and instinct
as his? We are all creatures of the dark stream, we swim in needs
and bodily impulses and small vanities; if ever and again a
bubble of spiritual imaginativeness glows out of us, it breaks
and leaves us where we were.
"Louse that I am!" he cried.
He still believed in God, without a shadow of doubt; he
believed in the God that he had seen, the high courage, the
golden intention, the light that had for a moment touched him.
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Essays of Travel by Robert Louis Stevenson: with merry folk in summer attire, the coachman cracks his whip, and
amid much applause from round the inn door off we rattle at a
spanking trot. The way lies through the forest, up hill and down
dale, and by beech and pine wood, in the cheerful morning sunshine.
The English get down at all the ascents and walk on ahead for
exercise; the French are mightily entertained at this, and keep coyly
underneath the tilt. As we go we carry with us a pleasant noise of
laughter and light speech, and some one will be always breaking out
into a bar or two of opera bouffe. Before we get to the Route Ronde
here comes Desprez, the colourman from Fontainebleau, trudging across
on his weekly peddle with a case of merchandise; and it is 'Desprez,
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Menexenus by Plato: and advise that I should, but not if you think otherwise. I went to the
council chamber because I heard that the Council was about to choose some
one who was to speak over the dead. For you know that there is to be a
public funeral?
SOCRATES: Yes, I know. And whom did they choose?
MENEXENUS: No one; they delayed the election until tomorrow, but I believe
that either Archinus or Dion will be chosen.
SOCRATES: O Menexenus! Death in battle is certainly in many respects a
noble thing. The dead man gets a fine and costly funeral, although he may
have been poor, and an elaborate speech is made over him by a wise man who
has long ago prepared what he has to say, although he who is praised may
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