| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Monster Men by Edgar Rice Burroughs: The cook, a harmless old Chinaman, and Virginia were
left in sole possession of the Ithaca.
Two hours after the departure of the men into the
jungle Virginia heard the fall of axes on timber and
knew that the site of her future home had been chosen
and the work of clearing begun. She sat musing on the
strange freak which had prompted her father to bury
them in this savage corner of the globe; and as she
pondered there came a wistful expression to her eyes,
and an unwonted sadness drooped the corners of her mouth.
Of a sudden she realized how wide had become the gulf
The Monster Men |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Last War: A World Set Free by H. G. Wells: transferred their animation to mankind. They still believed
there was intelligence somewhere, even if it was careless or
malignant.... It had only to be aroused to be
conscience-stricken, to be moved to exertion.... And I saw, too,
that as yet THERE WAS NO SUCH INTELLIGENCE. The world waits for
intelligence. That intelligence has still to be made, that will
for good and order has still to be gathered together, out of
scraps of impulse and wandering seeds of benevolence and whatever
is fine and creative in our souls, into a common purpose. It's
something still to come....'
It is characteristic of the widening thought of the time that
The Last War: A World Set Free |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Eryxias by Platonic Imitator: all those present:--(if they two had been alone, he would not have
minded):--so he answered, cleverly enough: I think that doing good things
is a work of human agency.
And is virtue in your opinion, Prodicus, innate or acquired by instruction?
The latter, said Prodicus.
Then you would consider him a simpleton who supposed that he could obtain
by praying to the Gods the knowledge of grammar or music or any other art,
which he must either learn from another or find out for himself?
Prodicus agreed to this also.
And when you pray to the Gods that you may do well and receive good, you
mean by your prayer nothing else than that you desire to become good and
|
