| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Apology by Plato: more afraid of them than of Anytus and his associates, who are dangerous,
too, in their own way. But far more dangerous are the others, who began
when you were children, and took possession of your minds with their
falsehoods, telling of one Socrates, a wise man, who speculated about the
heaven above, and searched into the earth beneath, and made the worse
appear the better cause. The disseminators of this tale are the accusers
whom I dread; for their hearers are apt to fancy that such enquirers do not
believe in the existence of the gods. And they are many, and their charges
against me are of ancient date, and they were made by them in the days when
you were more impressible than you are now--in childhood, or it may have
been in youth--and the cause when heard went by default, for there was none
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum: unusual until you get accustomed to it."
"What rare philosophy!" exclaimed the Woggle-Bug, admiringly.
"Yes; my brains are working well today," admitted the Scarecrow, an accent
of pride in his voice.
"Then, if you are sufficiently rested and refreshed, let us bend our steps
toward the Emerald City," suggested the magnified one.
"We can't," said Tip. "The Saw-Horse has broken a leg, so he can't bend his
steps. And there is no wood around to make him a new limb from. And we can't
leave the horse behind because the Pumpkinhead is so stiff in his Joints
that he has to ride."
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The Marvelous Land of Oz |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin: differences, and it is in human nature to value any novelty, however
slight, in one's own possession. Nor must the value which would formerly
be set on any slight differences in the individuals of the same species, be
judged of by the value which would now be set on them, after several breeds
have once fairly been established. Many slight differences might, and
indeed do now, arise amongst pigeons, which are rejected as faults or
deviations from the standard of perfection of each breed. The common goose
has not given rise to any marked varieties; hence the Thoulouse and the
common breed, which differ only in colour, that most fleeting of
characters, have lately been exhibited as distinct at our poultry-shows.
I think these views further explain what has sometimes been noticed--namely
On the Origin of Species |
