| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Voice of the City by O. Henry: to attack the advance line of spring's chilly cohorts.
Then arose one from a seat near the leaping foun-
tain, and came and sat himself at Vallance's side.
He was either young or old; cheap lodging-houses
had flavored him mustily; razors and combs had
passed him by; in him drink had been bottled and
sealed in the devil's bond. He begged a match, which
is the form of introduction among park benchers, and
then he began to talk.
"You're not one of the regulars," he said to Val-
lance. "I know tailored clothes when I see 'em.
The Voice of the City |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Agesilaus by Xenophon: safely guarded the city, and that too a city without walls and
bulwarks. Forbearing to engage in the open field, where the gain would
lie wholly with the enemy, he lay stoutly embattled on ground where
the citizens must reap advantage; since, as he doggedly persisted, to
march out meant to be surrounded on every side; whereas to stand at
bay where every defile gave a coign of vantage, would give him mastery
complete.[29]
[28] Lit. "perioecid"; see Plut. "Ages." xxxii. (Clough, iv. 39);
"Hell." VI. v. 32.
[29] Is this parallel to "Hell." VII. v. 10, or "Hell." VI. v. 28?
According to the historian, Agesilaus adopted similar tactics on
|
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Rescue by Joseph Conrad: "Not I! I am not one of them regular yacht hands. I came out of
the hospital in Hongkong. I've been two years on the China
coast."
He stopped, then added in an explanatory murmur:
"Opium clippers--you know. Nothing of brass buttons about me. My
ship left me behind, and I was in want of work. I took this job
but I didn't want to go home particularly. It's slow work after
sailing with old Robinson in the Ly-e-moon. That was my ship.
Heard of her, Captain?"
"Yes, yes," said Lingard, hastily. "Look here, Mr. Carter, which
way was your chief officer trying for Singapore? Through the
The Rescue |
