| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Symposium by Plato: much approve. And as you have spoken so eloquently of his nature, may I
ask you further, Whether love is the love of something or of nothing? And
here I must explain myself: I do not want you to say that love is the love
of a father or the love of a mother--that would be ridiculous; but to
answer as you would, if I asked is a father a father of something? to which
you would find no difficulty in replying, of a son or daughter: and the
answer would be right.
Very true, said Agathon.
And you would say the same of a mother?
He assented.
Yet let me ask you one more question in order to illustrate my meaning: Is
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte: past; of countries far away; of secrets of nature discovered or
guessed at: they spoke of books: how many they had read! What
stores of knowledge they possessed! Then they seemed so familiar
with French names and French authors: but my amazement reached its
climax when Miss Temple asked Helen if she sometimes snatched a
moment to recall the Latin her father had taught her, and taking a
book from a shelf, bade her read and construe a page of Virgil; and
Helen obeyed, my organ of veneration expanding at every sounding
line. She had scarcely finished ere the bell announced bedtime! no
delay could be admitted; Miss Temple embraced us both, saying, as
she drew us to her heart -
Jane Eyre |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Almayer's Folly by Joseph Conrad: the Prophet. And, speaking with well-bred politeness, he
explained further to the dumbfounded Almayer that, if he would
consent to the alliance of his offspring with that true believer
and virtuous man Reshid, she would be the mistress of all the
splendours of Reshid's house, and first wife of the first Arab in
the Islands, when he--Abdulla--was called to the joys of Paradise
by Allah the All-merciful. "You know, Tuan," he said, in
conclusion, "the other women would be her slaves, and Reshid's
house is great. From Bombay he has brought great divans, and
costly carpets, and European furniture. There is also a great
looking-glass in a frame shining like gold. What could a girl
Almayer's Folly |
