| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini: jointly with Mme. de Plougastel.
Late that night, as he sat gloomily in his brother's library, the
pipe in which he had sought solace extinguished between his fingers,
there came a sharp knocking at the door.
To the old seneschal of Gavrillac who went to open there stood
revealed upon the threshold a slim young man in a dark olive
surcoat, the skirts of which reached down to his calves. He wore
boots, buckskins, and a small-sword, and round his waist there was
a tricolour sash, in his hat a tricolour cockade, which gave him an
official look extremely sinister to the eyes of that old retainer
of feudalism, who shared to the full his master's present fears.
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Ion by Plato: poet. 'And yet, surely, he who knows the superior ought to know the
inferior also;--he who can judge of the good speaker is able to judge of
the bad. And poetry is a whole; and he who judges of poetry by rules of
art ought to be able to judge of all poetry.' This is confirmed by the
analogy of sculpture, painting, flute-playing, and the other arts. The
argument is at last brought home to the mind of Ion, who asks how this
contradiction is to be solved. The solution given by Socrates is as
follows:--
The rhapsode is not guided by rules of art, but is an inspired person who
derives a mysterious power from the poet; and the poet, in like manner, is
inspired by the God. The poets and their interpreters may be compared to a
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Sanitary and Social Lectures by Charles Kingsley: and vex her (for she is busy enough already) with remedies which
she does not understand, for troubles which you do not understand.
But speak comfortably to her, and say: "I cannot feel WITH you,
but I do feel FOR you: I should enjoy helping you, but I do not
know how--tell me. Tell me where the yoke galls; tell me why that
forehead is grown old before its time: I may be able to ease the
burden, to put fresh light into the eyes; and if not, still tell
me, simply because I am a woman, and know the relief of pouring
out my own soul into loving ears, even though in the depths of
despair." Yes, paradoxical as it may seem, I am convinced that
the only way to help these poor women humanly and really, is to
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