| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Hellenica by Xenophon: dependent on yourselves, I shall with infinite ease become Tagos[4] of
all the Thessalians; and then the corollary--Thessaly so united--
sixteen thousand cavalry and more than ten thousand heavy infantry
leap into life. Indeed, when I contemplate the physique and proud
carriage of these men, I cannot but persuade myself that, with proper
handling, there is not a nation or tribe of men to which Thessalians
would deign to yield submission. Look at the broad expanse of Thessaly
and consider: when once a Tagos is established here, all the tribes in
a circle round will lie stilled in subjection; and almost every member
of each of these tribes is an archer born, so that in the light
infantry division of the service our power must needs excel.
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from New Arabian Nights by Robert Louis Stevenson: perhaps wear a strange air. But I must be drawn into the eddy
before long."
The night was already well advanced when a plump of cold rain fell
suddenly out of the darkness. Brackenbury paused under some trees,
and as he did so he caught sight of a hansom cabman making him a
sign that he was disengaged. The circumstance fell in so happily
to the occasion that he at once raised his cane in answer, and had
soon ensconced himself in the London gondola.
"Where to, sir?" asked the driver.
"Where you please," said Brackenbury.
And immediately, at a pace of surprising swiftness, the hansom
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from On Horsemanship by Xenophon: gracefully himself at once appears magnificent."
If the possessor of so rare a creature should find himself by chance
in the position of a squadron leader or a general of cavalry, he must
not confine his zeal to the development of his personal splendour, but
should study all the more to make the troop or regiment a splendid
spectacle. Supposing (in accordance with the high praise bestowed upon
the type of animal)[9] the leader is mounted on a horse which with his
high airs and frequent prancing makes but the slightest movement
forward--obviously the rest of the troop must follow at a walking
pace, and one may fairly ask where is the element of splendour in the
spectacle? But now suppose that you, sir, being at the head of the
On Horsemanship |
