| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Ion by Plato: horrors, my hair stands on end and my heart throbs.
SOCRATES: Well, Ion, and what are we to say of a man who at a sacrifice or
festival, when he is dressed in holiday attire, and has golden crowns upon
his head, of which nobody has robbed him, appears weeping or panic-stricken
in the presence of more than twenty thousand friendly faces, when there is
no one despoiling or wronging him;--is he in his right mind or is he not?
ION: No indeed, Socrates, I must say that, strictly speaking, he is not in
his right mind.
SOCRATES: And are you aware that you produce similar effects on most of
the spectators?
ION: Only too well; for I look down upon them from the stage, and behold
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Mistress Wilding by Rafael Sabatini: the folk in the streets below, crying his name and acclaiming him their
champion, served to lighten the gloom that Wilding's words cast like a
cloud over his volatile heart. Alas, poor Monmouth! He was ever a
weathercock, and even as Wilding's words seemed to strike the courage
out of him, so did Grey's short contemptuous answer restore it.
"As it is, we'll thrust that throne over with our hands," said he after
a moment's pause.
"Aye," cried Monmouth. "We'll do it, God helping us!"
"Our dependence and trust is in the Lord of Hosts, in Whose Name we go
forth," boomed the voice of Ferguson, quoting from his precious
Declaration. "The Lord will do that which seemeth good unto Him."
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Silas Marner by George Eliot: Godfrey was silent. He was not likely to be very penetrating in his
judgments, but he had always had a sense that his father's
indulgence had not been kindness, and had had a vague longing for
some discipline that would have checked his own errant weakness and
helped his better will. The Squire ate his bread and meat hastily,
took a deep draught of ale, then turned his chair from the table,
and began to speak again.
"It'll be all the worse for you, you know--you'd need try and
help me keep things together."
"Well, sir, I've often offered to take the management of things,
but you know you've taken it ill always, and seemed to think I
Silas Marner |
