| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia by Samuel Johnson: and suffered any important and pressing avocation to delay the
tribute of daily tears. She then yielded to less occasions, and
sometimes forgot what she was indeed afraid to remember, and at
last wholly released herself from the duty of periodical
affliction.
Her real love of Pekuah was not yet diminished. A thousand
occurrences brought her back to memory, and a thousand wants, which
nothing but the confidence of friendship can supply, made her
frequently regretted. She therefore solicited Imlac never to
desist from inquiry, and to leave no art of intelligence untried,
that at least she might have the comfort of knowing that she did
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Statesman by Plato: we not exceeding all due limits; and is there not a measure of all arts and
sciences, to which the art of discourse must conform? There is; but before
we can apply this measure, we must know what is the aim of discourse: and
our discourse only aims at the dialectical improvement of ourselves and
others.--Having made our apology, we return once more to the king or
statesman, and proceed to contrast him with pretenders in the same line
with him, under their various forms of government. (5) His characteristic
is, that he alone has science, which is superior to law and written
enactments; these do but spring out of the necessities of mankind, when
they are in despair of finding the true king. (6) The sciences which are
most akin to the royal are the sciences of the general, the judge, the
Statesman |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Youth by Joseph Conrad: Nero the Roman and more splendid than Solomon the
Jew. The old bark lumbered on, heavy with her age
and the burden of her cargo, while I lived the life of
youth in ignorance and hope. She lumbered on through
an interminable procession of days; and the fresh gild-
ing flashed back at the setting sun, seemed to cry out
over the darkening sea the words painted on her stern,
'Judea, London. Do or Die.'
"Then we entered the Indian Ocean and steered north-
erly for Java Head. The winds were light. Weeks
slipped by. She crawled on, do or die, and people at
Youth |
