| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Protagoras by Plato: difference between ability and strength; the former is given by knowledge
as well as by madness or rage, but strength comes from nature and a healthy
state of the body. And in like manner I say of confidence and courage,
that they are not the same; and I argue that the courageous are confident,
but not all the confident courageous. For confidence may be given to men
by art, and also, like ability, by madness and rage; but courage comes to
them from nature and the healthy state of the soul.
I said: You would admit, Protagoras, that some men live well and others
ill?
He assented.
And do you think that a man lives well who lives in pain and grief?
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum: and thoughtful, and all her friends looked at her uneasily.
"Don't you do it!" exclaimed Dorothy. "If you guess wrong, you will
be enslaved yourself."
"But I shall have eleven guesses," answered Ozma. "Surely I ought to
guess one object in eleven correctly; and, if I do, I shall rescue one
of the royal family and be safe myself. Then the rest of you may
attempt it, and soon we shall free all those who are enslaved."
"What if we fail?" enquired the Scarecrow. "I'd look nice as a piece
of bric-a-brac, wouldn't I?"
"We must not fail!" cried Ozma, courageously. "Having come all this
distance to free these poor people, it would be weak and cowardly in
 Ozma of Oz |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad: this very room less than a month ago that nothing of the sort was
even possible."
The Assistant Commissioner glanced in the direction of the window
calmly.
"You will allow me to remark, Sir Ethelred, that so far I have had
no opportunity to give you assurances of any kind."
The haughty droop of the eyes was focussed now upon the Assistant
Commissioner.
"True," confessed the deep, smooth voice. "I sent for Heat. You
are still rather a novice in your new berth. And how are you
getting on over there?"
 The Secret Agent |