| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Love and Friendship by Jane Austen: pronounce him at first sight, a tender and simpathetic Freind.
Alas! he little deserved the name--for though he told us that he
was much concerned at our Misfortunes, yet by his own account it
appeared that the perusal of them, had neither drawn from him a
single sigh, nor induced him to bestow one curse on our
vindictive stars--. He told Sophia that his Daughter depended on
her returning with him to Macdonald-Hall, and that as his
Cousin's freind he should be happy to see me there also. To
Macdonald-Hall, therefore we went, and were received with great
kindness by Janetta the Daughter of Macdonald, and the Mistress
of the Mansion. Janetta was then only fifteen; naturally well
Love and Friendship |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Hellenica by Xenophon: fighting on the strongest half of his army, while he kept the weaker
portion of it in the background, knowing certainly that if worsted it
would only cause discouragement to his own division and add force to
the foe. The cavalry on the side of his opponents were disposed like
an ordinary phalanx of heavy infantry, regular in depth and
unsupported by foot-soldiers interspersed among the horses.[14]
Epaminondas again differed in strengthening the attacking point of his
cavalry, besides which he interspersed footmen between their lines in
the belief that, when he had once cut through the cavalry, he would
have wrested victory from the antagonist along his whole line; so hard
is it to find troops who will care to keep their own ground when once
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Theaetetus by Plato: to me also those who have nothing in them, and have no need of my art; and
I am their matchmaker (see above), and marry them to Prodicus or some other
inspired sage who is likely to suit them. I tell you this long story
because I suspect that you are in labour. Come then to me, who am a
midwife, and the son of a midwife, and I will deliver you. And do not bite
me, as the women do, if I abstract your first-born; for I am acting out of
good-will towards you; the God who is within me is the friend of man,
though he will not allow me to dissemble the truth. Once more then,
Theaetetus, I repeat my old question--"What is knowledge?" Take courage,
and by the help of God you will discover an answer.' 'My answer is, that
knowledge is perception.' 'That is the theory of Protagoras, who has
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