| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Menexenus by Plato: that to a man who has any self-respect, nothing is more dishonourable than
to be honoured, not for his own sake, but on account of the reputation of
his ancestors. The honour of parents is a fair and noble treasure to their
posterity, but to have the use of a treasure of wealth and honour, and to
leave none to your successors, because you have neither money nor
reputation of your own, is alike base and dishonourable. And if you follow
our precepts you will be received by us as friends, when the hour of
destiny brings you hither; but if you neglect our words and are disgraced
in your lives, no one will welcome or receive you. This is the message
which is to be delivered to our children.
'Some of us have fathers and mothers still living, and we would urge them,
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Caesar's Commentaries in Latin by Julius Caesar: multum Crassus confidebat, lapidibus telisque subministrandis et ad
aggerem caespitibus comportandis speciem atque opinionem pugnantium
praeberent, cum item ab hostibus constanter ac non timide pugnaretur
telaque ex loco superiore missa non frustra acciderent, equites circumitis
hostium castris Crasso renuntiaverunt non eadem esse diligentia ab
decumana porta castra munita facilemque aditum habere.
Crassus equitum praefectos cohortatus, ut magnis praemiis
pollicitationibusque suos excitarent, quid fieri vellet ostendit. Illi,
ut erat imperatum, eductis iis cohortibus quae praesidio castris relictae
intritae ab labore erant, et longiore itinere circumductis, ne ex hostium
castris conspici possent, omnium oculis mentibusque ad pugnam intentis
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Garden Party by Katherine Mansfield: shuts one's eyes to feel it, silently scrunching.
"Let these little birds tell you your future!" She stands beside the cage,
a shrivelled ageless Italian, clasping and unclasping her dark claws. Her
face, a treasure of delicate carving, is tied in a green-and-gold scarf.
And inside their prison the love-birds flutter towards the papers in the
seed-tray.
"You have great strength of character. You will marry a red-haired man and
have three children. Beware of a blonde woman." Look out! Look out! A
motor-car driven by a fat chauffeur comes rushing down the hill. Inside
there a blonde woman, pouting, leaning forward--rushing through your life--
beware! beware!
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