| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Father Goriot by Honore de Balzac: who had risen so that she might see out into the garden. "Poor
young man! he was in the right, after all."
"We must go upstairs, my pet," said Mme. Couture; "it is no
business of ours."
At the door, however, Mme. Couture and Victorine found their
progress barred by the portly form of Sylvie the cook.
"What ever can have happened?" she said. "M. Vautrin said to M.
Eugene, 'Let us have an explanation!' then he took him by the
arm, and there they are, out among the artichokes."
Vautrin came in while she was speaking. "Mamma Vauquer," he said
smiling, "don't frighten yourself at all. I am only going to try
Father Goriot |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Boys' Life of Abraham Lincoln by Helen Nicolay: President that year was James Buchanan, "a Northern man with
Southern principles," very strongly in favor of slavery. Lincoln
took an active part in the campaign against him, making more than
fifty speeches in Illinois and the adjoining States. The
Democrats triumphed, and Buchanan was elected President; but
Lincoln was not discouraged, for the new Republican party had
shown unexpected strength throughout the North. Indeed, Lincoln
was seldom discouraged. He had an abiding faith that the people
would in the long run vote wisely; and the cheerful hope he was
able to inspire in his followers was always a strong point in his
leadership.
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Hiero by Xenophon: in barbarians than in Hellenes, to be consumed with a desire to keep
freemen slaves and yet to be driven, will he nill he, to make slaves
free, are not all these the symptoms of a mind distracted and amazed
with terror?
[1] Or, "I wish I could disclose to you (he added) those heart-easing
joys." For {euphrosunas} cf. "Od." vi. 156; Aesch. "P. V." 540;
Eur. "Bacch." 376. A favourite word with our author; see "Ages."
ix. 4; "Cyrop." passim; "Mem." III. viii. 10; "Econ." ix. 12.
[2] Lit. "delighting I in them and they in me."
[3] Or, "when I sought tranquility I was my own companion."
[4] Or, "in sheer forgetfulness."
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