| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Symposium by Plato: they are reclining at the table. All of them agree to this proposal, and
Phaedrus, who is the 'father' of the idea, which he has previously
communicated to Eryximachus, begins as follows:--
He descants first of all upon the antiquity of love, which is proved by the
authority of the poets; secondly upon the benefits which love gives to man.
The greatest of these is the sense of honour and dishonour. The lover is
ashamed to be seen by the beloved doing or suffering any cowardly or mean
act. And a state or army which was made up only of lovers and their loves
would be invincible. For love will convert the veriest coward into an
inspired hero.
And there have been true loves not only of men but of women also. Such was
|
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Circular Staircase by Mary Roberts Rinehart: was a flash and a report. Some heavy body dropped, and, half
crazed with terror and shock, I ran through the drawing-room and
got up-stairs--I scarcely remember how."
She dropped into a chair, and I thought Mr. Jamieson must have
finished. But he was not through.
"You certainly clear your brother and Mr. Bailey admirably," he
said. "The testimony is invaluable, especially in view of the
fact that your brother and Mr. Armstrong had, I believe,
quarreled rather seriously some time ago."
"Nonsense," I broke in. "Things are bad enough, Mr. Jamieson,
without inventing bad feeling where it doesn't exist. Gertrude,
The Circular Staircase |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie: commissioned to find her, and added that they would therefore be
glad of any details Mr. Hersheimmer could give them.
That gentleman nodded approval.
"I guess that's all right. I was just a mite hasty. But London
gets my goat! I only know little old New York. Just trot out
your questions and I'll answer."
For the moment this paralysed the Young Adventurers, but
Tuppence, recovering herself, plunged boldly into the breach with
a reminiscence culled from detective fiction.
"When did you last see the dece--your cousin, I mean?"
"Never seen her," responded Mr. Hersheimmer.
Secret Adversary |
