| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from A Legend of Montrose by Walter Scott: spectacle which their own market-place afforded.
The envoy of Montrose was not quite so indifferent; and, hearing
a word or two of English escape from a Highlander of decent
appearance, he immediately halted Gustavus and addressed him,
"The Provost-Marshal has been busy here, my friend. May I crave
of you what these delinquents have been justified for?"
He looked towards the gibbet as he spoke; and the Gael,
comprehending his meaning rather by his action than his words,
immediately replied, "Three gentlemen caterans,--God sain them"
(crossing himself)--"twa Sassenach bits o' bodies, that wadna do
something that M'Callum More bade them;" and turning from
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from House of Mirth by Edith Wharton: the tremor might communicate itself to her voice. When
she spoke, however, it was in a tone of perfect lightness.
"Ah, yes--I had a little bit of money to invest, and Mr. Trenor,
who helps me about such matters, advised my putting it in stocks
instead of a mortgage, as my aunt's agent wanted me to do; and as
it happened, I made a lucky 'turn'--is that what you call it? For
you make a great many yourself, I believe."
She was smiling back at him now, relaxing the tension of her
attitude, and admitting him, by imperceptible gradations of
glance and manner, a step farther toward intimacy. The protective
instinct always nerved her to successful dissimulation, and it
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Sophist by Plato: mingling with cold, assuming in some other part of their works separations
and mixtures,--tell me, Theaetetus, do you understand what they mean by
these expressions? When I was a younger man, I used to fancy that I
understood quite well what was meant by the term 'not-being,' which is our
present subject of dispute; and now you see in what a fix we are about it.
THEAETETUS: I see.
STRANGER: And very likely we have been getting into the same perplexity
about 'being,' and yet may fancy that when anybody utters the word, we
understand him quite easily, although we do not know about not-being. But
we may be; equally ignorant of both.
THEAETETUS: I dare say.
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