| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Myths and Myth-Makers by John Fiske: large class of things to which popular belief has ascribed,
along with other talismanic properties, the power of opening
the ground or cleaving rocks, in order to reveal hidden
treasures. Leaving him in peace, then, with his bit of forked
hazel, to seek for cooling springs in some future thirsty
season, let us endeavour to elucidate the origin of this
curious superstition.
The detection of subterranean water is by no means the only
use to which the divining-rod has been put. Among the ancient
Frisians it was regularly used for the detection of criminals;
and the reputation of Jacques Aymar was won by his discovery
Myths and Myth-Makers |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Life of the Spider by J. Henri Fabre: seeds. The animal, in many cases, knows no other sense of
motherhood. What cares the Lycosa for her brood! She accepts
another's as readily as her own; she is satisfied so long as her
back is burdened with a swarming crowd, whether it issue from her
ovaries or elsewhence. There is no question here of real maternal
affection.
I have described elsewhere the prowess of the Copris {25} watching
over cells that are not her handiwork and do not contain her
offspring. With a zeal which even the additional labour laid upon
her does not easily weary, she removes the mildew from the alien
dung-balls, which far exceed the regular nests in number; she
The Life of the Spider |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Contrast by Royall Tyler: more at my toilet, that I had any thoughts of my aunt
Susan, or my cousin Betsey? though they are both
allowed to be critical judges of dress.
LETITIA
Why, who should we dress to please, but those
are judges of its merit?
CHARLOTTE
Why, a creature who does not know Buffon from
Souflee--Man!--my Letitia--Man! for whom we
dress, walk, dance, talk, lisp, languish, and smile.
Does not the grave Spectator assure us that even our
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