| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Sportsman by Xenophon: specimens"; but what does Xenophon mean by {ek toutou tou genous}?
The nets should be made of the same flaxen cord[3] as those for hares
above described. They should be forty-five threaded in three strands,
each strand consisting of fifteen threads. The height from the upper
rim[4] (i.e. from top to bottom) should be ten meshes, and the depth
of the nooses or pockets one elbow-length (say fifteen inches).[5] The
ropes running round the net should be half as thick again as the cords
of the net; and at the extremities[6] they should be fitted with
rings, and should be inserted (in and out) under the nooses, with the
end passing out through the rings. Fifteen nets will be sufficient.[7]
[3] i.e. "of Phasian or Cathaginian fine flax."
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Black Tulip by Alexandre Dumas: breast, where he had again put it, since he had no longer
any fear of being searched, he said: "My dear girl, I have
been very fond of flowers. That was at a time when I did not
know that there was anything else to be loved. Don't blush,
Rosa, nor turn away; and even if I were making you a
declaration of love, alas! poor dear, it would be of no more
consequence. Down there in the yard, there is an instrument
of steel, which in sixty minutes will put an end to my
boldness. Well, Rosa, I loved flowers dearly, and I have
found, or at least I believe so, the secret of the great
black tulip, which it has been considered impossible to
The Black Tulip |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy: what would have been casually called a wild slope had
been appropriated by Farmer Oak for his great purpose
this winter. Detached hurdles thatched with straw
were stuck into the ground at various scattered points,
amid and under which the whitish forms of his meek
ewes moved and rustled. The ring of the sheep-bell,
which had been silent during his absence, recommenced,
in tones that had more mellowness than clearness, owing
to an increasing growth of surrounding wool. This
continued till Oak withdrew again from the flock. He
-- returned to the hut, bringing in his arms a new-born
Far From the Madding Crowd |
