| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Mirror of the Sea by Joseph Conrad: range of his vision and raises the dread of land within his breast.
It makes of him a man robbed of half his force, of half his
efficiency. Many times in my life, standing in long sea-boots and
streaming oilskins at the elbow of my commander on the poop of a
homeward-bound ship making for the Channel, and gazing ahead into
the gray and tormented waste, I have heard a weary sigh shape
itself into a studiously casual comment:
"Can't see very far in this weather."
And have made answer in the same low, perfunctory tone
"No, sir."
It would be merely the instinctive voicing of an ever-present
The Mirror of the Sea |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Euthyphro by Plato: with them. Are all these tales of the gods true, Euthyphro?
EUTHYPHRO: Yes, Socrates; and, as I was saying, I can tell you, if you
would like to hear them, many other things about the gods which
would quite amaze you.
SOCRATES: I dare say; and you shall tell me them at some other time when I
have leisure. But just at present I would rather hear from you a more
precise answer, which you have not as yet given, my friend, to the
question, What is 'piety'? When asked, you only replied, Doing as you do,
charging your father with murder.
EUTHYPHRO: And what I said was true, Socrates.
SOCRATES: No doubt, Euthyphro; but you would admit that there are many
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Aesop's Fables by Aesop: understand, Cousin, how you can put up with such poor food as
this, but of course you cannot expect anything better in the
country; come you with me and I will show you how to live. When
you have been in town a week you will wonder how you could ever
have stood a country life." No sooner said than done: the two
mice set off for the town and arrived at the Town Mouse's
residence late at night. "You will want some refreshment after
our long journey," said the polite Town Mouse, and took his friend
into the grand dining-room. There they found the remains of a
fine feast, and soon the two mice were eating up jellies and cakes
and all that was nice. Suddenly they heard growling and barking.
Aesop's Fables |
