| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Enemies of Books by William Blades: of religion; of early astrological and chemical lore,
derived from the Egyptians, the Persians, the Greeks;
what abundance of superstitious observances and what is now termed
"Folklore"; what riches, too, for the philological student,
did those many books contain, and how famous would the library
now be that could boast of possessing but a few of them.
[1] The received opinion is that the "pieces of silver" here mentioned
were Roman denarii, which were the silver pieces then commonly used
in Ephesus. If now we weigh a denarius against modern silver,
it is exactly equal to ninepence, and fifty thousand times ninepence
gives L1,875. It is always a difficult matter to arrive at a just
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from On Horsemanship by Xenophon: the reins an equal length and grasped his spear in the handiest
fashion; and, in the next place, he should keep his left arm close to
his side. This position will give the rider absolute ease and
freedom,[11] and his hand the firmest hold.
[9] i.e. "below the knee"; "shin and calf."
[10] Lit. "pulled up" (and arranged the folds of his mantle).
[11] {eustalestatos}, "the most business-like deportment."
As to reins, we recommend those which are well balanced, without being
weak or slippery or thick, so that when necessary, the hand which
holds them can also grasp a spear.
As soon as the rider gives the signal to the horse to start,[12] he
On Horsemanship |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Witch, et. al by Anton Chekhov: "What?"
"What time does the sun rise now?"
"Between five and six," said the driver.
The mail cart drove out of the town. Now nothing could be seen on
either side of the road but the fences of kitchen gardens and
here and there a solitary willow-tree; everything in front of
them was shrouded in darkness. Here in the open country the
half-moon looked bigger and the stars shone more brightly. Then
came a scent of dampness; the postman shrank further into his
collar, the student felt an unpleasant chill first creeping about
his feet, then over the mail bags, over his hands and his face.
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