| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from De Profundis by Oscar Wilde: the book of that name is merely prose.
Indeed, that is the charm about Christ, when all is said: he is
just like a work of art. He does not really teach one anything,
but by being brought into his presence one becomes something. And
everybody is predestined to his presence. Once at least in his
life each man walks with Christ to Emmaus.
As regards the other subject, the Relation of the Artistic Life to
Conduct, it will no doubt seem strange to you that I should select
it. People point to Reading Gaol and say, 'That is where the
artistic life leads a man.' Well, it might lead to worse places.
The more mechanical people to whom life is a shrewd speculation
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from New Arabian Nights by Robert Louis Stevenson: and had bitterly and repeatedly accused Northmour in consequence.
The latter had protested that Beppo (that was the seaman's name)
was a capital fellow, and could be trusted to the death; but Mr.
Huddlestone had continued ever since to declare that all was lost,
that it was only a question of days, and that Beppo would be the
ruin of him yet.
I regarded the whole story as the hallucination of a mind shaken by
calamity. He had suffered heavy loss by his Italian transactions;
and hence the sight of an Italian was hateful to him, and the
principal part in his nightmare would naturally enough be played by
one of that nation.
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from On Horsemanship by Xenophon: for action--I say, if you take the lead of them in this style, the
collective thud, the general neighing and the snorting of the horses
will combine to render not only you at the head, but your whole
company[10] down to the last man a thrilling spectacle.
[9] Reading as vulg. {os malista epainousi tous toioutous ippous, os}.
L. Dind. omits the words as a gloss.
[10] Reading {oi} (for {osoi}) {sumparepomenoi}. See Hartmann, "An.
Xen. Nov." xiv. p. 343.
One word more. Supposing a man has shown some skill in purchasing his
horses, and can rear them into strong and serviceable animals,
supposing further he can handle them in the right way, not only in the
On Horsemanship |
