| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Ion by Plato: many such passages, particularly in the Odyssee; as, for example, the
passage in which Theoclymenus the prophet of the house of Melampus says to
the suitors:--
'Wretched men! what is happening to you? Your heads and your faces and
your limbs underneath are shrouded in night; and the voice of lamentation
bursts forth, and your cheeks are wet with tears. And the vestibule is
full, and the court is full, of ghosts descending into the darkness of
Erebus, and the sun has perished out of heaven, and an evil mist is spread
abroad (Od.).'
And there are many such passages in the Iliad also; as for example in the
description of the battle near the rampart, where he says:--
|
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle: for since thou hast abided at the Sheriff's many know thy face,
and if thou goest in broad daylight, thou mayst get thyself
into a coil with some of his worship's men-at-arms. Bide thou
here till I bring thee money to pay our good Hugh. I warrant
he hath no better customers in all Nottinghamshire than we."
So saying, Robin left them and entered the forest.
Not far from the trysting tree was a great rock in which a chamber had been
hewn, the entrance being barred by a massive oaken door two palms'-breadth
in thickness, studded about with spikes, and fastened with a great padlock.
This was the treasure house of the band, and thither Robin Hood went and,
unlocking the door, entered the chamber, from which he brought forth a bag
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Spirit of the Border by Zane Grey: except on, which, singularly enough, was next to the woods.
"Look thar!" exclaimed Wetzel, under his breath. He pointed off to the right
of the maple glade. Jonathan gazed in the direction indicated, and saw two
savages stealthily slipping through the bushes, and behind trees. Presently
these suspicious acting spies, or scouts, stopped on a little knoll perhaps an
hundred yards from the glade.
Wetzel groaned.
"This ain't comfortable," growled Zane, in a low whisper. "Them red devils are
up to somethin' bad. They'd better not move round over here."
The hunters, satisfied that the two isolated savages meant mischief, turned
their gaze once more toward the maple grove.
The Spirit of the Border |
