| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Crisis in Russia by Arthur Ransome: place at any serious crisis. Many thousands of them have
died for the sake of the revolution which, were they living,
they would be hard put to it to save. (The special shortage of
skilled workers is also partially to be explained by the
indiscriminate mobilizations of 1914-15, when great
numbers of the most valuable engineers and other skilled
workers were thrown into the front line, and it was not
until their loss was already felt that the Tsar's Government in this
matter came belatedly to its senses.)
But these explanations are only partial. The more general
answer to the question, What has become of the workmen?
|
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from On Revenues by Xenophon: counted on, we are in a position to conduct our festivals on an even
grander scale than heretofore, to restore our temples, to rebuild our
forts and docks, and to reinstate in their ancient privileges our
priests, our senators, our magistrates, and our knights--surely it
were but reasonable to enter upon this project speedily, so that we
too, even in our own day, may witness the unclouded dawn of prosperity
in store for our city.
But if you are agreed to carry out this plan, there is one further
counsel which I would urge upon you. Send to Dodona and to Delphi, I
would beg you, and consult the will of Heaven whether such a provision
and such a policy on our part be truly to the interest of Athens both
|
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Tess of the d'Urbervilles, A Pure Woman by Thomas Hardy: read and realized what was to be the inscription he was
now halfway through--
THOU, SHALT, NOT, COMMIT--
Her cheerful friend saw her looking, stopped his brush,
and shouted--
"If you want to ask for edification on these things of
moment, there's a very earnest good man going to preach
a charity-sermon today in the parish you are going
to--Mr Clare of Emminster. I'm not of his persuasion
now, but he's a good man, and he'll expound as well as
any parson I know. 'Twas he began the work in me."
Tess of the d'Urbervilles, A Pure Woman |
