| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Ion by Plato: winged and holy thing, and there is no invention in him until he has been
inspired and is out of his senses, and the mind is no longer in him: when
he has not attained to this state, he is powerless and is unable to utter
his oracles. Many are the noble words in which poets speak concerning the
actions of men; but like yourself when speaking about Homer, they do not
speak of them by any rules of art: they are simply inspired to utter that
to which the Muse impels them, and that only; and when inspired, one of
them will make dithyrambs, another hymns of praise, another choral strains,
another epic or iambic verses--and he who is good at one is not good at any
other kind of verse: for not by art does the poet sing, but by power
divine. Had he learned by rules of art, he would have known how to speak
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Arizona Nights by Stewart Edward White: outfit, first and last, would bring him in somewheres about fifty
dollars--and besides he had forty-rod at four bits a glass. And
outfits at that time were thicker'n spatter.
We used all to go down sometimes to watch them come in. When
they see that little canvas shack and that well, they begun to
cheer up and move fast. And when they see that sign, "Water, two
bits a head," their eyes stuck out like two raw oysters.
Then come the kicks. What a howl they did raise, shorely. But
it didn't do no manner of good. Texas Pete didn't do nothin' but
sit there and smoke, with a kind of sulky gleam in one corner of
his eye. He didn't even take the trouble to answer, but his
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Agesilaus by Xenophon: [10] See "Econ." i. 23.
Again, if it is a sacred duty to hate the Persian, who of old set out
on a campaign to enslave Hellas; the Persian, who to-day makes
alliance with these (no matter to him which the party, provided it
will help him to work the greater mischief[11]); or gives presents to
those (who will take them and do the greatest harm to his foes the
Hellenes); or else concocts a peace that shall presently involve us in
internecine war, as he anticipates:--but why dwell on facts so patent?
--I ask, did ever Hellene before Agesilaus so enter heart and soul
upon his duty; whether it were to help some tribe to throw off the
Persian yoke, or to save from destruction a revolted district, or if
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