| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Criminal Sociology by Enrico Ferri: circumstances which tend to aggravate the offence. This is
confirmed also by the rarity of acquittals in cases of contumacy.
Of these two factors the former is certainly the more important,
for it is a psychological law that man, in regard to punishment as
to any other kind of suffering, is more affected by the certainty
than by the gravity of the infliction. And it is to the credit of
criminal theorists of the classical school that they have steadily
maintained that a mild yet certain punishment is more effectual
than one which, being severe in itself, holds out a stronger hope
of escaping it. Nevertheless it is a fact that they have carried
the theory too far, by seeking to obtain excessive mitigations and
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Pool of Blood in the Pastor's Study by Grace Isabel Colbron and Augusta Groner: Muller, detective. Gyuri Kovacz, you will do what I tell you to!
I am master here just now. Is it not so, doctor?"
"Yes, it is so," said the doctor.
"What does this mean?" murmured Gyuri, turning pale.
"It means that the best thing for you to do is to stand up against
that wall and fold your arms on your breast," said Muller firmly.
He took a revolver from his pocket and laid it beside him on the
turning-lathe. The young giant, cowed by the sight of the weapon,
obeyed the commands of this little man whom he could have easily
crushed with a single blow.
Dr. Orszay sank down on the chair beside the door. Muller, now
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Wrecker by Stevenson & Osbourne: you may feel the way I do--just inspired! My feet don't touch
the ground; I kind of swim. Mamie is like Moses and Aaron
that held up the other individual's arms. She carries me along
like a horse and buggy. I am beating the record.
"Your true partner,
"J. PINKERTON."
Number two was in a different style:--
"My dearest Loudon, how am I to prepare you for this dire
intelligence? O dear me, it will strike you to the earth. The
Fiat has gone forth; our firm went bust at a quarter before
twelve. It was a bill of Bradley's (for $200) that brought these
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