| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain: the river since 1844, said there never was such a rise, and he was
satisfied more than one quarter of the stock has been lost.
Luckily the people cared first for their work stock, and when they
could find it horses and mules were housed in a place of safety.
The rise which still continues, and was two inches last night,
compels them to get them out to the hills; hence it is
that the work of General York is of such a great value.
From daylight to late at night he is going this way and that,
cheering by his kindly words and directing with calm judgment
what is to be done. One unpleasant story, of a certain
merchant in New Orleans, is told all along the river.
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Polity of Athenians and Lacedaemonians by Xenophon: which we attribute to the nature of women. At any rate, you might
sooner expect a stone image to find voice than one of those Spartan
youths; to divert the eyes of some bronze stature were less difficult.
And as to quiet bearing, no bride ever stepped in bridal bower[6] with
more natural modesty. Note them when they have reached the public
table.[7] The plainest answer to the question asked--that is all you
need expect to hear from their lips.
[4] See Cic. "pro Coelio," 5.
[5] See Plat. "Charmid." 159 B; Jowett, "Plato," I. 15.
[6] Longinus, {peri ups}, iv. 4, reading {ophthalmois} for
{thalamois}, says: "Yet why speak of Timaeus, when even men like
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne: its direction, incidents which might happen, the precautions
necessitated by their fall on to the moon, were inexhaustible
matters of conjecture.
As they were breakfasting, a question of Michel's, relating to
the projectile, provoked rather a curious answer from Barbicane,
which is worth repeating. Michel, supposing it to be roughly
stopped, while still under its formidable initial speed, wished
to know what the consequences of the stoppage would have been.
"But," said Barbicane, "I do not see how it could have been stopped."
"But let us suppose so," said Michel.
"It is an impossible supposition," said the practical Barbicane;
From the Earth to the Moon |
