| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe: distemper spread itself over the whole city and suburbs, at once,
raging in all places alike, as it has done since in some places abroad,
the whole body of the people must have been overwhelmed, and there
would have died twenty thousand a day, as they say there did at
Naples;, nor would the people have been able to have helped or
assisted one another.
For it must be observed that where the plague was in its full force,
there indeed the people were very miserable, and the consternation
was inexpressible. But a little before it reached even to that place, or
presently after it was gone, they were quite another sort of people; and
I cannot but acknowledge that there was too much of that common
A Journal of the Plague Year |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift: women: Of introducing a vein of parsimony, prudence and
temperance: Of learning to love our country, wherein we differ
even from Laplanders, and the inhabitants of Topinamboo: Of
quitting our animosities and factions, nor acting any longer like
the Jews, who were murdering one another at the very moment their
city was taken: Of being a little cautious not to sell our
country and consciences for nothing: Of teaching landlords to
have at least one degree of mercy towards their tenants. Lastly,
of putting a spirit of honesty, industry, and skill into our
shop-keepers, who, if a resolution could now be taken to buy only
our native goods, would immediately unite to cheat and exact upon
A Modest Proposal |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from In a German Pension by Katherine Mansfield: very good tea. The great secret is to warm the teapot."
"Warm the teapot," interrupted the Herr Rat, pushing away his soup plate.
"What do you warm the teapot for? Ha! ha! that's very good! One does not
eat the teapot, I suppose?"
He fixed his cold blue eyes upon me with an expression which suggested a
thousand premeditated invasions.
"So that is the great secret of your English tea? All you do is to warm
the teapot."
I wanted to say that was only the preliminary canter, but could not
translate it, and so was silent.
The servant brought in veal, with sauerkraut and potatoes.
|
