| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Cavalry General by Xenophon: submission to the gods; but he must possess great fighting qualities,
seeing that he has on his borders a rival cavalry equal to his own in
number and backed by a large force of heavy infantry.[1] So that, if
he undertake to invade the enemy's territory unsupported by the other
forces of the city[2]--in dealing with two descriptions of forces
single-handed, he and his cavalry must look for a desperate adventure;
or to take the converse case, that the enemy invades the soil of
Attica, to begin with, he will not invade at all, unless supported by
other cavalry besides his own and an infantry force sufficient to
warrant the supposition that no force on our side can cope with him.
[1] The reference is doubtless to the Thebans. Unfortunately we do not
|
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from My Aunt Margaret's Mirror by Walter Scott: visitors to the care of the servant. It was with difficulty that
Lady Bothwell sustained her sister to the carriage, though it was
only twenty steps distant. When they arrived at home, Lady
Forester required medical assistance. The physician of the
family attended, and shook his head on feeling her pulse.
"Here has been," he said, "a violent and sudden shock on the
nerves. I must know how it has happened."
Lady Bothwell admitted they had visited the conjurer, and that
Lady Forester had received some bad news respecting her husband,
Sir Philip.
"That rascally quack would make my fortune, were he to stay in
|
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne: cross a medium such as the air, they are deflected out of the
straight line; in other words, they undergo refraction. Well!
When stars are occulted by the moon, their rays, on grazing the
edge of her disc, exhibit not the least deviation, nor offer the
slightest indication of refraction. It follows, therefore, that
the moon cannot be surrounded by an atmosphere.
"In point of fact," replied Ardan, "this is your chief, if not
your _only_ argument; and a really scientific man might be
puzzled to answer it. For myself, I will simply say that it is
defective, because it assumes that the angular diameter of the
moon has been completely determined, which is not the case.
From the Earth to the Moon |
