| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Republic by Plato: the preparation which Plato is making for the attack on Homer and the
poets; (3) the preparation which he is also making for the use of economies
in the State; (4) the contemptuous and at the same time euphemistic manner
in which here as below he alludes to the 'Chronique Scandaleuse' of the
gods.
BOOK III. There is another motive in purifying religion, which is to
banish fear; for no man can be courageous who is afraid of death, or who
believes the tales which are repeated by the poets concerning the world
below. They must be gently requested not to abuse hell; they may be
reminded that their stories are both untrue and discouraging. Nor must
they be angry if we expunge obnoxious passages, such as the depressing
The Republic |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Message by Honore de Balzac: movements graceful, her foot charming. An experienced man of
pleasure would not have given her more than thirty years, her
forehead was so girlish. She had all the most transient delicate
detail of youth in her face. In character she seemed to me to
resemble the Comtesse de Lignolles and the Marquise de B----, two
feminine types always fresh in the memory of any young man who
has read Louvet's romance.
In a moment I saw how things stood, and took a diplomatic course
that would have done credit to an old ambassador. For once, and
perhaps for the only time in my life, I used tact, and knew in
what the special skill of courtiers and men of the world
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Hellenica by Xenophon: home.
Jason took his departure from Boeotia through Phocis, where he
captured the suburbs of Hyampolis[24] and ravaged the country
districts, putting many to the sword. Content with this, he traversed
the rest of Phocis without meddling or making. Arrived at
Heraclea,[25] he knocked down the fortress of the Heracleots, showing
that he was not troubled by any apprehension lest when the pass was
thrown open somebody or other might march against his own power at
some future date. Rather was he haunted by the notion that some one or
other might one day seize Heraclea, which commanded the pass, and bar
his passage into Hellas--should Hellas ever be his goal.[26] At the
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