| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe: flash of fire first, and immediately after that thunder from their
gods, had killed those two and wounded him. This, I say, is
rational; for nothing is more certain than that, as they saw no man
near them, so they had never heard a gun in all their lives, nor so
much as heard of a gun; neither knew they anything of killing and
wounding at a distance with fire and bullets: if they had, one
might reasonably believe they would not have stood so unconcerned
to view the fate of their fellows, without some apprehensions of
their own.
Our two men, as they confessed to me, were grieved to be obliged to
kill so many poor creatures, who had no notion of their danger;
Robinson Crusoe |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Theaetetus by Plato: SOCRATES: There is, further, the popular notion of telling the mark or
sign of difference which distinguishes the thing in question from all
others.
THEAETETUS: Can you give me any example of such a definition?
SOCRATES: As, for example, in the case of the sun, I think that you would
be contented with the statement that the sun is the brightest of the
heavenly bodies which revolve about the earth.
THEAETETUS: Certainly.
SOCRATES: Understand why:--the reason is, as I was just now saying, that
if you get at the difference and distinguishing characteristic of each
thing, then, as many persons affirm, you will get at the definition or
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from In a German Pension by Katherine Mansfield: little pair of hands stretches across the water--wait until he comes into
harbour and sees you with the child at your breast."
I sat up stiffly.
"But I consider child-bearing the most ignominious of all professions," I
said.
For a moment there was silence. Then Frau Fischer reached down and caught
my hand.
"So young and yet to suffer so cruelly," she murmured. "There is nothing
that sours a woman so terribly as to be left alone without a man,
especially if she is married, for then it is impossible for her to accept
the attention of others--unless she is unfortunately a widow. Of course, I
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