ˈɛɡzɜ(ɹ)(p)t ɪkˈsɜː(ɹ)pʃən ˈɛkstɹækt səˈlɛkʃən a passage selected from a larger work he presented excerpts from William James' philosophical writings The act of excerpting or selecting from a larger work. But the phenomenon of excerption can help us create a possible scenario for how the commentary preserved in Berol. 9780, a papyrus from Hermoupolis dating to the second century C.E., was created.