| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Symposium by Plato: Do you expect to shoot your bolt and escape, Aristophanes? Well, perhaps
if you are very careful and bear in mind that you will be called to
account, I may be induced to let you off.
Aristophanes professed to open another vein of discourse; he had a mind to
praise Love in another way, unlike that either of Pausanias or Eryximachus.
Mankind, he said, judging by their neglect of him, have never, as I think,
at all understood the power of Love. For if they had understood him they
would surely have built noble temples and altars, and offered solemn
sacrifices in his honour; but this is not done, and most certainly ought to
be done: since of all the gods he is the best friend of men, the helper
and the healer of the ills which are the great impediment to the happiness
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Crisis in Russia by Arthur Ransome: different rooms on one and the same story will reply
variously. Those who live on the top floor will shout that
the rafters are rotten and the roof falling; that it is impossible
to live, there any longer, and that it is immediately
necessary, first of all, to put up new beams and to
repair the roof. And from their point of view they will be
perfectly right. Certainly it is not possible to live any longer
on that floor. Certainly the repair of the roof is necessary.
The inhabitants of one of the lower stories in which the
water pipes have burst will cry out that it is impossible to
live without water, and therefore, first of all, the water pipes
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen: sat in an aerial dwelling, and it flew with them through the air. Oh, it was
wondrous beautiful! Old Nanny had grown all of a sudden a young and pretty
maiden; but her robe was still the same green stuff with white flowers, which
she had worn before. On her bosom she had a real Elderflower, and in her
yellow waving hair a wreath of the flowers; her eyes were so large and blue
that it was a pleasure to look at them; she kissed the boy, and now they were
of the same age and felt alike.
Hand in hand they went out of the bower, and they were standing in the
beautiful garden of their home. Near the green lawn papa's walking-stick was
tied, and for the little ones it seemed to be endowed with life; for as soon
as they got astride it, the round polished knob was turned into a magnificent
Fairy Tales |
