| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Mayflower Compact: a Voyage to plant the first colony in the Northerne Parts
of Virginia; doe, by these Presents, solemnly and mutually
in the Presence of God and one of another, covenant and
combine ourselves together into a civill Body Politick,
for our better Ordering and Preservation, and Furtherance
of the Ends aforesaid; And by Virtue hereof do enact,
constitute, and frame, such just and equall Laws, Ordinances,
Acts, Constitutions, and Offices, from time to time,
as shall be thought most meete and convenient for the
Generall Good of the Colonie; unto which we promise
all due Submission and Obedience.
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott: give you hats and sticks and rolls of paper, and let you travel
through the house from the cellar, which was the City of Destruction,
up, up, to the housetop, where you had all the lovely things you
could collect to make a Celestial City."
"What fun it was, especially going by the lions, fighting
Apollyon, and passing through the valley where the hob-goblins
were," said Jo.
"I liked the place where the bundles fell off and tumbled
downstairs," said Meg.
"I don't remember much about it, except that I was afraid of
the cellar and the dark entry, and always liked the cake and milk
Little Women |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Cratylus by Plato: used twice over, when another word or turn of expression would have given a
new shade of meaning to the thought and would have added a pleasing variety
to the sound. And the mind equally rejects the repetition of the word and
the use of a mere synonym for it,--e.g. felicity and happiness. The
cultivated mind desires something more, which a skilful writer is easily
able to supply out of his treasure-house.
The fear of tautology has doubtless led to the multiplications of words and
the meanings of words, and generally to an enlargement of the vocabulary.
It is a very early instinct of language; for ancient poetry is almost as
free from tautology as the best modern writings. The speech of young
children, except in so far as they are compelled to repeat themselves by
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