| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Agesilaus by Xenophon: xxxvii. (Clough, iv. 44 foll.)
[39] I.e. "Nectanebos and a certain Mendesian."
III
Such, then, is the chronicle of this man's achievements, or of such of
them as were wrought in the presence of a thousand witnesses. Being of
this sort they have no need of further testimony; the mere recital of
them is sufficient, and they at once win credence. But now I will
endeavour to reveal the excellence indwelling in his soul, the motive
power of his acts, in virtue of which he clung to all things
honourable and thrust aside all baseness.
Agesilaus showed such reverence for things divine that even his
|
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Hellenica by Xenophon: of the way? The answer to that question is obvious. You would be the
first object of Theban invasion. Clearly; for they must feel that you
and you alone stand in the path between them and empire over Hellas.
If this be so, I do not consider that you are more supporting
Lacedaemon by a campaign in her behalf than you are helping
yourselves. For imagine the Thebans, your own sworn foes and next-door
neighbours, masters of Hellas! You will find it a painful and onerous
exchange indeed for the distant antagonism of Sparta. As a mere matter
of self-interest, now is the time to help yourselves, while you may
still reckon upon allies, instead of waiting until they are lost, and
you are forced to fight a life-and-death battle with the Thebans
|
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Lily of the Valley by Honore de Balzac: I talk to her of the inconsolable women of Lancashire; she makes
allusion to Frenchwomen who dignify their gastric troubles by calling
them despair. Thanks to her, I have a mortal enemy in de Marsay, of
whom she is very fond. In return, I call her the wife of two
generations.
So my disaster was complete; it lacked nothing. I followed the plan I
had laid out for myself during my retreat at Sache; I plunged into
work and gave myself wholly to science, literature, and politics. I
entered the diplomatic service on the accession of Charles X., who
suppressed the employment I held under the late king. From that moment
I was firmly resolved to pay no further attention to any woman, no
The Lily of the Valley |
