| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Salammbo by Gustave Flaubert: like arches of ebony, met each other at the points; golden dust
sparkled in the frizzled hair, and the face was so wan that it looked
as if it had been powdered with marble raspings. The rest of the body
was concealed beneath the fleeces which filled the litter.
In the man so reclining the soldiers recognised the Suffet Hanno, he
whose slackness had assisted to lose the battle of the Aegatian
islands; and as to his victory at Hecatompylos over the Libyans, even
if he did behave with clemency, thought the Barbarians, it was owing
to cupidity, for he had sold all the captives on his own account,
although he had reported their deaths to the Republic.
After seeking for some time a convenient place from which to harangue
Salammbo |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Alcibiades I by Plato: the name of Alcibiades, we are compelled to suspend our judgment on the
genuineness of the extant dialogue.
Neither at this point, nor at any other, do we propose to draw an absolute
line of demarcation between genuine and spurious writings of Plato. They
fade off imperceptibly from one class to another. There may have been
degrees of genuineness in the dialogues themselves, as there are certainly
degrees of evidence by which they are supported. The traditions of the
oral discourses both of Socrates and Plato may have formed the basis of
semi-Platonic writings; some of them may be of the same mixed character
which is apparent in Aristotle and Hippocrates, although the form of them
is different. But the writings of Plato, unlike the writings of Aristotle,
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Second Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling: The dog whimpered and shivered between Kadlu's knees. The hair
rose about his neck, and he growled as though a stranger were at
the door; then he barked joyously, and rolled on the ground, and
bit at Kotuko's boot like a puppy.
"What is it?" said Kotuko; for he was beginning to be afraid.
"The sickness," Kadlu answered. "It is the dog sickness." Kotuko
the dog lifted his nose and howled and howled again.
"I have not seen this before. What will he do?" said Kotuko.
Kadlu shrugged one shoulder a little, and crossed the hut for
his short stabbing-harpoon. The big dog looked at him, howled
again, and slunk away down the passage, while the other dogs
The Second Jungle Book |
