| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin: poultry. Even a huge land-crab is furnished by nature with
the means to open and feed on this most useful production.
The ring-formed reef of the lagoon-island is surmounted
in the greater part of its length by linear islets. On the
northern or leeward side, there is an opening through which
vessels can pass to the anchorage within. On entering, the
scene was very curious and rather pretty; its beauty, however,
entirely depended on the brilliancy of the surrounding
colours. The shallow, clear, and still water of the lagoon,
resting in its greater part on white sand, is, when illumined
by a vertical sun, of the most vivid green. This brilliant
The Voyage of the Beagle |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Lock and Key Library by Julian Hawthorne, Ed.: often can be kindled only by contact with flame. Certainly this is
so in proud, reserved natures, which are chilled by any contact
with temperature not higher than their own.
"On her return, however, from that absence I have mentioned, I was
not a little fluttered by an obvious change in her manner; an
impression which subsequent meetings only served to confirm.
Although still very quiet, her manner had become more tender, and
it had that delicious shyness which is the most exquisite of
flatteries, as it is one of the most enchanting of graces. I saw
her tremble slightly beneath my voice, and blush beneath my gaze.
"There was no mistaking these signs. It was clear that she loved
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from De Profundis by Oscar Wilde: wrong. I can claim on my side that if I realise what I have
suffered, society should realise what it has inflicted on me; and
that there should be no bitterness or hate on either side.
Of course I know that from one point of view things will be made
different for me than for others; must indeed, by the very nature
of the case, be made so. The poor thieves and outcasts who are
imprisoned here with me are in many respects more fortunate than I
am. The little way in grey city or green field that saw their sin
is small; to find those who know nothing of what they have done
they need go no further than a bird might fly between the twilight
and the dawn; but for me the world is shrivelled to a handsbreadth,
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