| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Intentions by Oscar Wilde: what the critical spirit can give us. The gods live thus: either
brooding over their own perfection, as Aristotle tells us, or, as
Epicurus fancied, watching with the calm eyes of the spectator the
tragicomedy of the world that they have made. We, too, might live
like them, and set ourselves to witness with appropriate emotions
the varied scenes that man and nature afford. We might make
ourselves spiritual by detaching ourselves from action, and become
perfect by the rejection of energy. It has often seemed to me that
Browning felt something of this. Shakespeare hurls Hamlet into
active life, and makes him realise his mission by effort. Browning
might have given us a Hamlet who would have realised his mission by
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Happy Prince and Other Tales by Oscar Wilde: the grass, and buried his face in his hands, and wept.
"Why is he weeping?" asked a little Green Lizard, as he ran past
him with his tail in the air.
"Why, indeed?" said a Butterfly, who was fluttering about after a
sunbeam.
"Why, indeed?" whispered a Daisy to his neighbour, in a soft, low
voice.
"He is weeping for a red rose," said the Nightingale.
"For a red rose?" they cried; "how very ridiculous!" and the little
Lizard, who was something of a cynic, laughed outright.
But the Nightingale understood the secret of the Student's sorrow,
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Aeroplanes and Dirigibles of War by Frederick A. Talbot: trenches may be completely empty, whereas, as a matter of fact,
they are throbbing with alert infantry, anxious for a struggle
with the enemy.
This is one instance where the dirigible is superior to the
aeroplane. The latter can only keep circling round and round
over the suspicious position; the movement through the air
interferes with close continuous observation. On the other hand,
the dirigible can maintain a stationary position aloft for hours
on end. Then the issue is resolved into a contest of patience,
with the advantage to the airman. The soldiers in the trenches
fret and fume under cover; confined concealment is irksome and is
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