| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Meno by Plato: in the mind of Plato, and the correlation of ideas, not of 'all with all,'
but of 'some with some,' is asserted and explained. But they are spoken of
in a different manner, and are not supposed to be recovered from a former
state of existence. The metaphysical conception of truth passes into a
psychological one, which is continued in the Laws, and is the final form of
the Platonic philosophy, so far as can be gathered from his own writings
(see especially Laws). In the Laws he harps once more on the old string,
and returns to general notions:--these he acknowledges to be many, and yet
he insists that they are also one. The guardian must be made to recognize
the truth, for which he has contended long ago in the Protagoras, that the
virtues are four, but they are also in some sense one (Laws; compare
|
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Astoria by Washington Irving: accepted, greatly to the displeasure of Mr. Miller, who seemed
obstinately bent upon braving the perils of Mad River.
The weather for a few days past had been stormy, with rain and
sleet. The Rocky Mountains are subject to tempestuous winds from
the west; these sometimes come in flaws or currents, making a
path through the forests many yards in width, and whirling off
trunks and branches to a great distance. The present storm
subsided on the third of October, leaving all the surrounding
heights covered with snow; for while rain had fallen in the
valley, it had snowed on the hill tops.
On the 4th, they broke up their encampment, and crossed the
|
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Camille by Alexandre Dumas: where she tried, as far as possible, to induce him to forget the
incident, but the old man, wounded in his dignity, bore her a
grudge for it, and could not forgive her. He said to her,
somewhat cruelly, that he was tired of paying for the follies of
a woman who could not even have him treated with respect under
his own roof, and he went away in great indignation.
Since that day he had never been heard of.
In vain Marguerite dismissed her guests, changed her way of life;
the duke was not to be heard of. I was the gainer in so, far that
my mistress now belonged to me more completely, and my dream was
at length realized. Marguerite could not be without me. Not
Camille |
