| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Soul of Man by Oscar Wilde: to exercise authority over the artist and over works of art. To
certain theatres, such as the Lyceum and the Haymarket, the public
seem to come in a proper mood. In both of these theatres there
have been individual artists, who have succeeded in creating in
their audiences - and every theatre in London has its own audience
- the temperament to which Art appeals. And what is that
temperament? It is the temperament of receptivity. That is all.
If a man approaches a work of art with any desire to exercise
authority over it and the artist, he approaches it in such a spirit
that he cannot receive any artistic impression from it at all. The
work of art is to dominate the spectator: the spectator is not to
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Battle of the Books by Jonathan Swift: hundreds, half of them with one foot in the grave. Then "such a
planet in such a house shows great machinations, plots, and
conspiracies, that may in time be brought to light:" after which,
if we hear of any discovery, the astrologer gets the honour; if
not, his prediction still stands good. And at last, "God preserve
King William from all his open and secret enemies, Amen." When if
the King should happen to have died, the astrologer plainly
foretold it; otherwise it passes but for the pious ejaculation of a
loyal subject; though it unluckily happened in some of their
almanacks that poor King William was prayed for many months after
he was dead, because it fell out that he died about the beginning
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling: been cuffed and run off in a temper, "A man's cub is a man's cub,
and he must learn all the Law of the Jungle."
"But think how small he is," said the Black Panther, who would
have spoiled Mowgli if he had had his own way. "How can his
little head carry all thy long talk?"
"Is there anything in the jungle too little to be killed? No.
That is why I teach him these things, and that is why I hit him,
very softly, when he forgets."
"Softly! What dost thou know of softness, old Iron-feet?"
Bagheera grunted. "His face is all bruised today by thy--
softness. Ugh."
The Jungle Book |
