| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Four Arthurian Romances by Chretien DeTroyes: they notice that his strokes are growing weaker, and they fear he
will get the worst of it; it seemed to them that he was
weakening, while Meleagant was triumphing, and they began to
murmur all around. But up at the window of the tower there was a
wise maiden who thought within herself that the knight had not
undertaken the battle either on her account or for the sake of
the common herd who had gathered about the list, but that his
only incentive had been the Queen; and she thought that, if he
knew that she was at the window seeing and watching him, his
strength and courage would increase. And if she had known his
name, she would gladly have called to him to look about him.
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Rape of Lucrece by William Shakespeare: Then call them not the authors of their ill,
No more than wax shall be accounted evil,
Wherein is stamp'd the semblance of a devil.
Their smoothness, like a goodly champaign plain,
Lays open all the little worms that creep;
In men, as in a rough-grown grove, remain
Cave-keeping evils that obscurely sleep:
Through crystal walls each little mote will peep:
Though men can cover crimes with bold stern looks,
Poor women's faces are their own faults' books.
No man inveigb against the wither'd flower,
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Hiero by Xenophon: Or say, they are the givers of two gifts which shall be like in all
respects. It is plain enough in this case also that "the gracious
favour" of his royal highness, even if halved, would more than
counterbalance the whole value of the commoner's "donation."[11]
[11] Or, "half the great man's 'bounty' more than outweighs the small
man's present." For {dorema} cf. Aristot. "N. E." I. ix. 2,
"happiness . . . a free gift of God to men."
Nay, as it seems to me, an honour from the gods, a grace divine, is
shed about the path of him the hero-ruler.[12] Not only does command
itself ennoble manhood, but we gaze on him with other eyes and find
the fair within him yet more fair who is to-day a prince and was but
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