| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Cratylus by Plato: that the soul moves in harmony with the world (sumphora, sumpheronta).
Kerdos is to pasi kerannumenon--that which mingles with all things:
lusiteloun is equivalent to to tes phoras luon to telos, and is not to be
taken in the vulgar sense of gainful, but rather in that of swift, being
the principle which makes motion immortal and unceasing; ophelimon is apo
tou ophellein--that which gives increase: this word, which is Homeric, is
of foreign origin. Blaberon is to blamton or boulomenon aptein tou rou--
that which injures or seeks to bind the stream. The proper word would be
boulapteroun, but this is too much of a mouthful--like a prelude on the
flute in honour of Athene. The word zemiodes is difficult; great changes,
as I was saying, have been made in words, and even a small change will
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery: "What can I do for you this evening, Mr. Cuthbert?" Miss Lucilla
Harris inquired, briskly and ingratiatingly, tapping the counter
with both hands.
"Have you any--any--any--well now, say any garden rakes?"
stammered Matthew.
Miss Harris looked somewhat surprised, as well she might, to hear
a man inquiring for garden rakes in the middle of December.
"I believe we have one or two left over," she said, "but they're
upstairs in the lumber room. I'll go and see." During her
absence Matthew collected his scattered senses for another effort.
When Miss Harris returned with the rake and cheerfully inquired:
Anne of Green Gables |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table by Oliver Wendell Holmes: market with that unripe fruit which his father says in one of these
papers abounds in the marts of his native country. All these by-
gone shortcomings he would hope are forgiven, did he not feel sure
that very few of his readers know anything about them. In taking
the old name for the new papers, he felt bound to say that he had
uttered unwise things under that title, and if it shall appear that
his unwisdom has not diminished by at least half while his years
have doubled, he promises not to repeat the experiment if he should
live to double them again and become his own grandfather.
OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES.
BOSTON. NOV. 1ST 1858.
The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table |
