| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Economist by Xenophon: [13] See "Hellenica Essays," p. 380; and as still more to the point,
Cowley's Essays: "Of Agriculture," passim.
Her high prerogative it is to offer fitting first-fruits to high
heaven, hers to furnish forth the overflowing festal board.[14] Hers
is a kindly presence in the household. She is the good wife's
favourite, the children long for her, she waves her hand winningly to
the master's friends.
[14] Or, "to appoint the festal board most bounteously."
For myself, I marvel greatly if it has ever fallen to the lot of
freeborn man to own a choicer possesion, or to discover an occupation
more seductive, or of wider usefulness in life than this.
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Timaeus by Plato: the causes which have made it what it is. They are as follows:--Seeing
that there is no such thing as a vacuum into which any of those things
which are moved can enter, and the breath is carried from us into the
external air, the next point is, as will be clear to every one, that it
does not go into a vacant space, but pushes its neighbour out of its place,
and that which is thrust out in turn drives out its neighbour; and in this
way everything of necessity at last comes round to that place from whence
the breath came forth, and enters in there, and following the breath, fills
up the vacant space; and this goes on like the rotation of a wheel, because
there can be no such thing as a vacuum. Wherefore also the breast and the
lungs, when they emit the breath, are replenished by the air which
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from New Poems by Robert Louis Stevenson: To weary muscles strained with toil,
Shall hearten for the daily moil,
Or widely read
Make sweet for him that tills the soil
His daily bread.
Such songs in my flushed hours I dream
(High thought) instead of armour gleam
Or warrior cantos ream by ream
To load the shelves -
Songs with a lilt of words, that seem
To sing themselves.
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