| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Republic by Plato: And when I speak of the other division of the intelligible, you will
understand me to speak of that other sort of knowledge which reason herself
attains by the power of dialectic, using the hypotheses not as first
principles, but only as hypotheses--that is to say, as steps and points of
departure into a world which is above hypotheses, in order that she may
soar beyond them to the first principle of the whole; and clinging to this
and then to that which depends on this, by successive steps she descends
again without the aid of any sensible object, from ideas, through ideas,
and in ideas she ends.
I understand you, he replied; not perfectly, for you seem to me to be
describing a task which is really tremendous; but, at any rate, I
The Republic |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Shadow out of Time by H. P. Lovecraft: and come up again after long ages - all since those blocks were
made and used. It is a matter of hundreds of thousands of years
- or heaven knows how much more. I don't like to think about it.
In view of your previous diligent work in tracking down the
legends and everything connected with them, I cannot doubt but
that you will want to lead an expedition to the desert and make
some archaeological excavations. Both Dr. Boyle and I are prepared
to cooperate in such work if you - or organizations known to you
- can furnish the funds.
I can get together a dozen miners for
the heavy digging - the blackfellows would be of no use, for I've
Shadow out of Time |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Black Tulip by Alexandre Dumas: gentle comforter to sacrifice him to his tulip, -- that is
to say, to give up seeing him, if need be, -- whereas to him
the sight of Rosa had become a condition of life.
In Cornelius's cell one heard the chimes of the clock of the
fortress. It struck seven, it struck eight, it struck nine.
Never did the metal voice vibrate more forcibly through the
heart of any man than did the last stroke, marking the ninth
hour, through the heart of Cornelius.
All was then silent again. Cornelius put his hand on his
heart, to repress as it were its violent palpitation, and
listened.
The Black Tulip |
