| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Barlaam and Ioasaph by St. John of Damascus: well, sir, how much I dread thy father, and how great is my faith
toward him: wherefore he ordered me, for my faithfulness, to wait
upon thee. Now, when I see this stranger constantly conversing
with thee, I fear he may be of the Christian religion, toward
which thy father hath a deadly hate; and I shall be found subject
to the penalty of death. Either then make known to thy father
this man's business, or in future cease to converse with him.
Else cast me forth from thy presence, that I be not blameable,
and ask thy father to appoint another in my room.
The king's son said unto him, "This do, Zardan, first of all.
Sit thou down behind the curtain, and hear his communication with
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Bickerstaff-Partridge Papers by Jonathan Swift: planets, tho' they descend from no greater a height than their
own brains.
I intend in a short time to publish a large and rational defence
of this art, and therefore shall say no more in its justification
at present, than that it hath been in all ages defended by many
learned men, and among the rest by Socrates himself, whom I look
upon as undoubtedly the wisest of uninspir'd mortals: To which if
we add, that those who have condemned this art, though otherwise
learned, having been such as either did not apply their studies
this way, or at least did not succeed in their applications;
their testimony will not be of much weight to its disadvantage,
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Polity of Athenians and Lacedaemonians by Xenophon: here, again, it will be found that they are acting with wise
deliberation in granting to[16] even the baser sort the right of
speech, for supposing only the better people might speak, or sit in
council, blessings would fall to the lot of those like themselves, but
to the commonalty the reverse of blessings. Whereas now, any one who
likes, any base fellow, may get up and discover something to the
advantage of himself and his equals. It may be retorted: "And what
sort of advantage either for himself or for the People can such a
fellow be expected to hit upon?" The answer to which is, that in their
judgment the ignorance and baseness of this fellow, together with his
goodwill, are worth a great deal more to them than your superior
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