| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from On Horsemanship by Xenophon: then, we would insist, the corselet must be made to fit the person;
since, if it fits well, its weight will be distributed over the whole
body; whereas, if too loose, the shoulders will have all the weight to
bear, while, if too tight, the corselet is no longer a defensive arm,
but a "strait jacket."[1] Again, the neck, as being a vital part,[2]
ought to have, as we maintain, a covering, appended to the corselet
and close-fitting. This will serve as an ornament, and if made as it
ought to be, will conceal the rider's face--if so he chooses--up to
the nose.
[1] Cf. "Mem." III. x.
[2] L. Dind. cf. Hom. "Il." viii. 326:
On Horsemanship |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Odyssey by Homer: at. My heart is full of hardiness, for much evil have I
suffered in perils of waves and war; let this be added to
the tale of those. But a ravening belly may none conceal, a
thing accursed, that works much ill for men. For this cause
too the benched ships are furnished, that bear mischief to
foemen over the unharvested seas.'
Thus they spake one to the other. And lo, a hound raised up
his head and pricked his ears, even where he lay, Argos,
the hound of Odysseus, of the hardy heart, which of old
himself had bred, but had got no joy of him, for ere that,
he went to sacred Ilios. Now in time past the young men
The Odyssey |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde: be a day when his face would be wrinkled and wizen, his eyes dim
and colourless, the grace of his figure broken and deformed.
The scarlet would pass away from his lips and the gold steal from
his hair. The life that was to make his soul would mar his body.
He would become dreadful, hideous, and uncouth.
As he thought of it, a sharp pang of pain struck through him
like a knife and made each delicate fibre of his nature quiver.
His eyes deepened into amethyst, and across them came a mist
of tears. He felt as if a hand of ice had been laid upon
his heart.
"Don't you like it?" cried Hallward at last, stung a little
The Picture of Dorian Gray |
