| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Hiero by Xenophon: to prove to you the truth of what I say, beginning with the faculty of
vision, which, unless my memory betrays me, was your starting-point.
Well then, when I come to reason[13] on the matter, first of all I
find that, as regards the class of objects of which these orbs of
vision are the channel,[14] the despot has the disadvantage. Every
region of the world, each country on this fair earth, presents objects
worthy of contemplation, in quest of which the ordinary citizen will
visit, as the humour takes him, now some city [for the sake of
spectacles],[15] or again, the great national assemblies,[16] where
sights most fitted to entrance the gaze of multitudes would seem to be
collected.[17] But the despot has neither part nor lot in these high
|
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Sylvie and Bruno by Lewis Carroll: "and he's coming across the line with it--oh, Bruno, you ought to cross
by the bridge!" for the distant thud, thud, of the Express was already
audible.
Suddenly a look of horror came over her face. "Oh, he's fallen down on
the rails!" she cried, and darted past me at a speed that quite defied
the hasty effort I made to stop her.
But the wheezy old Station-Master happened to be close behind me: he
wasn't good for much, poor old man, but he was good for this; and,
before I could turn round, he had the child clasped in his arms, saved
from the certain death she was rushing to. So intent was I in watching
this scene, that I hardly saw a flying figure in a light grey suit,
Sylvie and Bruno |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Master and Man by Leo Tolstoy: wife, no matter.'
'Why, are you really frozen?' asked Vasili Andreevich.
'I feel it's my death. Forgive me for Christ's sake . . .'
said Nikita in a tearful voice, continuing to wave his hand
before his face as if driving away flies.
Vasili Andreevich stood silent and motionless for half a
minute. Then suddenly, with the same resolution with which he
used to strike hands when making a good purchase, he took a
step back and turning up his sleeves began raking the snow off
Nikita and out of the sledge. Having done this he hurriedly
undid his girdle, opened out his fur coat, and having pushed
Master and Man |
