| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Philebus by Plato: We are living in the second age of utilitarianism, when the charm of
novelty and the fervour of the first disciples has passed away. The
doctrine is no longer stated in the forcible paradoxical manner of Bentham,
but has to be adapted to meet objections; its corners are rubbed off, and
the meaning of its most characteristic expressions is softened. The array
of the enemy melts away when we approach him. The greatest happiness of
the greatest number was a great original idea when enunciated by Bentham,
which leavened a generation and has left its mark on thought and
civilization in all succeeding times. His grasp of it had the intensity of
genius. In the spirit of an ancient philosopher he would have denied that
pleasures differed in kind, or that by happiness he meant anything but
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Melmoth Reconciled by Honore de Balzac: there? My voice could be heard through the sound of thunder, my eyes
shine as brightly as the sun, for I am the peer of Lucifer!"
Castanier heard the terrible words, and felt no protest nor
contradiction within himself. He walked side by side with the
Englishman, and had no power to leave him.
"You are mine; you have just committed a crime. I have found at last
the mate whom I have sought. Have you a mind to learn your destiny?
Aha! you came here to see a play, and you shall see a play--nay, two.
Come. Present me to Mme. de la Garde as one of your best friends. Am I
not your last hope of escape?"
Castanier, followed by the stranger, returned to his box; and in
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum: potatoes on the side, and five gallons of ice-cream for dessert."
"I--I'll do the best I can!" said Nanda, and she ran away as fast as
she could go.
"Are you so very hungry?" asked Dorothy, in wonder.
"You can hardly imagine the size of my appetite," replied the Tiger,
sadly. "It seems to fill my whole body, from the end of my throat to
the tip of my tail. I am very sure the appetite doesn't fit me, and
is too large for the size of my body. Some day, when I meet a dentist
with a pair of forceps, I'm going to have it pulled."
"What, your tooth?" asked Dorothy.
"No, my appetite," said the Hungry Tiger.
Ozma of Oz |
