| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Virginian by Owen Wister: before among the generations of speaking men. To-day you can hear
legends of it from Texas to Montana; but I am giving you the full
particulars.
Of course they pitched upon poor Lin. Here was the Virginian
doing his best, holding horses and helping ladies descend, while
the name of McLean began to be muttered with threats. Soon a
party led by Mr. Dow set forth in search of him, and the
Southerner debated a moment if he had better not put them on a
wrong track. But he concluded that they might safely go on
searching.
Mrs. Westfall found Christopher at once in the green shawl of
The Virginian |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Gorgias by Plato: the explanation of them is, that he is not a free agent, but must always be
imitating his two loves. And this is the explanation of Socrates'
peculiarities also. He is always repeating what his mistress, Philosophy,
is saying to him, who unlike his other love, Alcibiades, is ever the same,
ever true. Callicles must refute her, or he will never be at unity with
himself; and discord in life is far worse than the discord of musical
sounds.
Callicles answers, that Gorgias was overthrown because, as Polus said, in
compliance with popular prejudice he had admitted that if his pupil did not
know justice the rhetorician must teach him; and Polus has been similarly
entangled, because his modesty led him to admit that to suffer is more
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Girl with the Golden Eyes by Honore de Balzac: which takes the means for the end, and by turns curses and adores,
elevates and destroys! What a delight to impose emotions on it and
receive none from it, to tame it, never to obey it. If one may ever be
proud of anything, is it not a self-acquired power, of which one is at
once the cause and effect, the principle and the result? Well, no man
knows what I love, nor what I wish. Perhaps what I have loved, or what
I may have wished will be known, as a drama which is accomplished is
known; but to let my game be seen--weakness, mistake! I know nothing
more despicable than strength outwitted by cunning. Can I initiate
myself with a laugh into the ambassador's part, if indeed diplomacy is
as difficult as life? I doubt it. Have you any ambition? Would you
The Girl with the Golden Eyes |
