| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Concerning Christian Liberty by Martin Luther: faith it becomes ours, and in it we too conquer.
Let it suffice to say this concerning the inner man and its
liberty, and concerning that righteousness of faith which needs
neither laws nor good works; nay, they are even hurtful to it, if
any one pretends to be justified by them.
And now let us turn to the other part: to the outward man. Here
we shall give an answer to all those who, taking offence at the
word of faith and at what I have asserted, say, "If faith does
everything, and by itself suffices for justification, why then
are good works commanded? Are we then to take our ease and do no
works, content with faith?" Not so, impious men, I reply; not so.
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Polity of Athenians and Lacedaemonians by Xenophon: enjoy, obedience is the greatest. Since, as they could not but reason,
the greater the power with which men fence about authority, the
greater the fascination it will exercise upon the mind of the citizen,
to the enforcement of obedience.
[1] See Grote, "H. G." v. 516; "Mem." III. v. 18.
[2] Or, reading after L. Dindorf, {eutaxian}, "this world-renowned
orderliness."
[3] Or, "from these facts."
[4] Or, "It was only natural that these same . . ."
[5] Or, "helped." See Aristot. "Pol." v. 11, 3; ii. 9, 1 (Jowett, ii.
224); Plut. "Lycurg." 7, 29; Herod. i. 65; Muller, "Dorians," iii.
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad: secret agent, he had no mind to be utterly ruined, mostly, it must
be owned, from regard for his wife.
Silent, and out of his line of sight in the kitchen, she frightened
him. If only she had had her mother with her. But that silly old
woman - An angry dismay possessed Mr Verloc. He must talk with his
wife. He could tell her certainly that a man does get desperate
under certain circumstances. But he did not go incontinently to
impart to her that information. First of all, it was clear to him
that this evening was no time for business. He got up to close the
street door and put the gas out in the shop.
Having thus assured a solitude around his hearthstone Mr Verloc
The Secret Agent |
