| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Phaedrus by Plato: There seems to be a notion that the work of a great artist like Plato
cannot fail in unity, and that the unity of a dialogue requires a single
subject. But the conception of unity really applies in very different
degrees and ways to different kinds of art; to a statue, for example, far
more than to any kind of literary composition, and to some species of
literature far more than to others. Nor does the dialogue appear to be a
style of composition in which the requirement of unity is most stringent;
nor should the idea of unity derived from one sort of art be hastily
transferred to another. The double titles of several of the Platonic
Dialogues are a further proof that the severer rule was not observed by
Plato. The Republic is divided between the search after justice and the
|
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Bureaucracy by Honore de Balzac: government, applicable or inapplicable to the affairs of France. Such
men, by whom the difficulties of national policy were never
apprehended, were in the habit of attacking this minister personally
whenever a parliamentary battle or a contest with the secret follies
of the court took place,--on the eve of a struggle with the popular
mind, or on the morrow of a diplomatic discussion which divided the
Council into three separate parties. Caught in such a predicament, a
statesman naturally keeps a yawn ready for the first sentence designed
to show him how the public service could be better managed. At such
periods not a dinner took place among bold schemers or financial and
political lobbyists where the opinions of the Bourse and the Bank, the
|
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from An Open Letter on Translating by Dr. Martin Luther: people also compel it so they do not continue to hang onto works
and wander away from faith, losing Christ, especially at this time
when they have been so accustomed to works they have to be pulled
away from them by force. It is for these reasons that it is not
only right but also necessary to say it as plainly and forcefully
as possible: "Faith alone saves without works!" I am only sorry I
did not add "alle" and "aller", and said "without any (alle) works
of any (aller) laws." That would have stated it most effectively.
Therefore, it will remain in the New Testament, and though all the
papal asses rant and rave at me, they shall not take it away from
me. Let this be enough for now. I will have to speak more about
|