| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Familiar Studies of Men and Books by Robert Louis Stevenson: curious letter of his, written at the request of Queen Mary,
to the Earl of Argyle, on very delicate household matters;
which, as he tells us, "was not well accepted of the said
Earl." (2) We may suppose, however, that his own home was
regulated in a similar spirit. I can fancy that for such a
man, emotional, and with a need, now and again, to exercise
parsimony in emotions not strictly needful, something a
little mechanical, something hard and fast and clearly
understood, would enter into his ideal of a home. There were
storms enough without, and equability was to be desired at
the fireside even at a sacrifice of deeper pleasures. So,
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Vailima Letters by Robert Louis Stevenson: their loyalty, and the commandant of the forces, a very nice
young beardless Swede, became nervous, and conceived a plan.
How if he should put dynamite under the gaol, and in case of
an attempted rescue blow up prison and all? He went to the
President, who agreed; he went to the American man-of-war for
the dynamite and machine, was refused, and got it at last
from the Wreckers. The thing began to leak out, and there
arose a muttering in town. People had no fancy for amateur
explosions, for one thing. For another, it did not clearly
appear that it was legal; the men had been condemned to six
months' prison, which they were peaceably undergoing; they
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Symposium by Xenophon: Poets," 1st s., p. 281.
[8] See "Mem." III. x. 5; "Cyrop." VIII. i. 43.
Here Lycon interposed: That may be well enough for youths, but what
shall we do whose gymnastic days are over? What fragrance is left for
us?
Soc. Why, that of true nobility, of course.
Lyc. And whence shall a man obtain this chrism?
Soc. Not from those that sell perfumes and unguents, in good sooth.
Lyc. But whence, then?
Soc. Theognis has told us:
From the good thou shalt learn good things, but if with the evil
The Symposium |
