| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Art of War by Sun Tzu: presume you know the difference between front and back, right
hand and left hand?"
The girls replied: Yes.
Sun Tzu went on: "When I say "Eyes front," you must
look straight ahead. When I say "Left turn," you must face
towards your left hand. When I say "Right turn," you must
face towards your right hand. When I say "About turn," you
must face right round towards your back."
Again the girls assented. The words of command having
been thus explained, he set up the halberds and battle-axes
in order to begin the drill. Then, to the sound of drums, he
The Art of War |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Cavalry General by Xenophon: and those chosen theirs, and so on following suit; since on this
principle we may expect each man to have his trustiest comrade at his
back.
As to your lieutenant,[7] it is every way important to appoint a good
man to this post, whose bravery will tell; and in case of need at any
time to charge the enemy, the cheering accents of his voice will
infuse strength into those in front; or when the critical moment of
retreat arrives, his sage conduct in retiring will go far, we may well
conclude, towards saving his division.[8]
[7] {ton aphegoumenon}, lit. "him who leads back" (a function which
would devolve upon the {ouragos} under many circumstances). Cf.
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: He was balancing himself on the dashboard of his car with that
resourcefulness of movement that is so peculiarly American--that comes,
I suppose, with the absence of lifting work or rigid sitting in youth
and, even more, with the formless grace of our nervous, sporadic games.
This quality was continually breaking through his punctilious manner in
the shape of restlessness. He was never quite still; there was always a
tapping foot somewhere or the impatient opening and closing of a hand.
He saw me looking with admiration at his car.
"It's pretty, isn't it, old sport?" He jumped off to give me a better
view. "Haven't you ever seen it before?"
I'd seen it. Everybody had seen it. It was a rich cream color, bright
The Great Gatsby |
