| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Lysis by Plato: let you have your own way, and will not interfere with your happiness; her
wool, or the piece of cloth which she is weaving, are at your disposal: I
am sure that there is nothing to hinder you from touching her wooden
spathe, or her comb, or any other of her spinning implements.
Nay, Socrates, he replied, laughing; not only does she hinder me, but I
should be beaten if I were to touch one of them.
Well, I said, this is amazing. And did you ever behave ill to your father
or your mother?
No, indeed, he replied.
But why then are they so terribly anxious to prevent you from being happy,
and doing as you like?--keeping you all day long in subjection to another,
Lysis |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Phantasmagoria and Other Poems by Lewis Carroll: ccx074@coventry.ac.uk
Phantasmagoria and Other Poems
PHANTASMAGORIA
CANTO I - The Trystyng
ONE winter night, at half-past nine,
Cold, tired, and cross, and muddy,
I had come home, too late to dine,
And supper, with cigars and wine,
Was waiting in the study.
There was a strangeness in the room,
And Something white and wavy
|
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry: and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they
are wisest. They are the magi.
End of this Project Gutenberg Etext of THE GIFT OF THE MAGI.
The Gift of the Magi |
