| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Cratylus by Plato: arise from any conscious act of reflection that the accusative of a Latin
noun in 'us' should end in 'um;' nor (b) from any necessity of being
understood,--much less articulation would suffice for this; nor (c) from
greater convenience or expressiveness of particular sounds. Such notions
were certainly far enough away from the mind of primitive man. We may
speak of a latent instinct, of a survival of the fittest, easiest, most
euphonic, most economical of breath, in the case of one of two competing
sounds; but these expressions do not add anything to our knowledge. We may
try to grasp the infinity of language either under the figure of a
limitless plain divided into countries and districts by natural boundaries,
or of a vast river eternally flowing whose origin is concealed from us; we
|
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Monster Men by Edgar Rice Burroughs: Sing's quick eyes scanned the surrounding jungle,
and in a moment, staggering to his feet, he cried,
"Look see, klick! Foot plint!" and ran, weak and
reeling drunkenly, along the broad trail made by
the giant creature and its prey.
Von Horn and Professor Maxon followed closely in
Sing's wake, the younger man horrified by the terrible
possibilities that obtruded themselves into his
imagination despite his every effort to assure himself
that no harm could come to Virginia Maxon before they
reached her. The girl's father had not spoken since
The Monster Men |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from 'Twixt Land & Sea by Joseph Conrad: away from the rail to look at the compass with such a stealthy gait
that the helmsman noticed it - and I could not help noticing the
unusual roundness of his eyes. These are trifling instances,
though it's to no commander's advantage to be suspected of
ludicrous eccentricities. But I was also more seriously affected.
There are to a seaman certain words, gestures, that should in given
conditions come as naturally, as instinctively as the winking of a
menaced eye. A certain order should spring on to his lips without
thinking; a certain sign should get itself made, so to speak,
without reflection. But all unconscious alertness had abandoned
me. I had to make an effort of will to recall myself back (from
'Twixt Land & Sea |
