| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Economist by Xenophon: possessions?
Crit. A comic notion indeed! that some one should be good enough to
add to my stock of enemies, and that in addition he should be paid for
his kind services.
Soc. Because, you know, we agreed that a man's estate was identical
with his possessions?
Crit. Yes, certainly! the good part of his possessions; but the evil
portion! no, I thank you, that I do not call part of a man's
possessions.
Soc. As I understand, you would limit the term to what we may call a
man's useful or advantageous possessions?
|
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift: same manner, taking them one by one out of my pocket; and I
observed both the soldiers and people were highly delighted at
this mark of my clemency, which was represented very much to my
advantage at court.
Towards night I got with some difficulty into my house, where I
lay on the ground, and continued to do so about a fortnight;
during which time, the emperor gave orders to have a bed prepared
for me. Six hundred beds of the common measure were brought in
carriages, and worked up in my house; a hundred and fifty of
their beds, sewn together, made up the breadth and length; and
these were four double: which, however, kept me but very
Gulliver's Travels |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from A Kidnapped Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum: gifts he was to distribute on Christmas Eve; and at first they
resolved to try to tempt him into their caves, that they might lead
him on to the terrible pitfalls that ended in destruction.
So the very next day, while Santa Claus was busily at work, surrounded
by his little band of assistants, the Daemon of Selfishness came to
him and said:
"These toys are wonderfully bright and pretty. Why do you not keep
them for yourself? It's a pity to give them to those noisy boys and
fretful girls, who break and destroy them so quickly."
"Nonsense!" cried the old graybeard, his bright eyes twinkling merrily
as he turned toward the tempting Daemon. "The boys and girls are
A Kidnapped Santa Claus |
