| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Symposium by Xenophon: themselves.
[4] Or, "the coup de grace."
And so the first discussion ended.[5]
[5] Or, "so ended fytte the first of the word-controversy."
Thereupon Niceratus: Lend me your ears, and I will tell you in what
respects you shall be better for consorting with myself. I presume,
without my telling you, you know that Homer, being the wisest of
mankind, has touched upon nearly every human topic in his poems.[6]
Whosoever among you, therefore, would fain be skilled in economy, or
oratory, or strategy; whose ambition it is to be like Achilles, or
Ajax, Nestor, or Odysseus--one and all pay court to me, for I have all
The Symposium |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Laches by Plato: the treatment of the soul, and which of us has had good teachers?
LACHES: Well but, Socrates; did you never observe that some persons, who
have had no teachers, are more skilful than those who have, in some things?
SOCRATES: Yes, Laches, I have observed that; but you would not be very
willing to trust them if they only professed to be masters of their art,
unless they could show some proof of their skill or excellence in one or
more works.
LACHES: That is true.
SOCRATES: And therefore, Laches and Nicias, as Lysimachus and Melesias, in
their anxiety to improve the minds of their sons, have asked our advice
about them, we too should tell them who our teachers were, if we say that
|
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from On the Duty of Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau: obtain it. It puts to rest many questions which he would
otherwise be taxed to answer; while the only new question
which it puts is the hard but superfluous one, how to spend
it. Thus his moral ground is taken from under his feet.
The opportunities of living are diminished in proportion as
that are called the "means" are increased. The best thing a
man can do for his culture when he is rich is to endeavor to
carry out those schemes which he entertained when he was
poor. Christ answered the Herodians according to their
condition. "Show me the tribute-money," said he--and one
took a penny out of his pocket--if you use money which has
On the Duty of Civil Disobedience |
