| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Purse by Honore de Balzac: middle place between the miser and the usurer. Optimists in their
own interests, they are all faithful to the Austrian status quo.
If you speak of moving a cupboard or a door, of opening the most
indispensable air-hole, their eyes flash, their bile rises, they
rear like a frightened horse. When the wind blows down a few
chimney-pots they are quite ill, and deprive themselves of an
evening at the Gymnase or the Porte-Saint-Martin Theatre, "on
account of repairs." Hippolyte, who had seen the performance
gratis of a comical scene with Monsieur Molineux as concerning
certain decorative repairs in his studio, was not surprised to
see the dark greasy paint, the oily stains, spots, and other
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Symposium by Xenophon: [1] {sunekroteito}, "on the composition of his piece." Al. "amidst a
round of plaudits."
[2] "Struck the keynote of a novel theme." Cf. Plat. "Symp." 177 E.
It were but reasonable, sirs, on our part not to ignore the mighty
power here present,[3] a divinity in point of age coequal with the
everlasting gods, yet in outward form the youngest,[4] who in
magnitude embraces all things, and yet his shrine is planted in the
soul of man. Love[5] is his name! and least of all should we forget
him who are one and all votaries of this god.[6] For myself I cannot
name the time at which I have not been in love with some one.[7] And
Charmides here has, to my knowledge, captivated many a lover, while
The Symposium |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift: consisted of two islands, which composed three mighty kingdoms,
under one sovereign, beside our plantations in America. I dwelt
long upon the fertility of our soil, and the temperature of our
climate. I then spoke at large upon the constitution of an
English parliament; partly made up of an illustrious body called
the House of Peers; persons of the noblest blood, and of the most
ancient and ample patrimonies. I described that extraordinary
care always taken of their education in arts and arms, to qualify
them for being counsellors both to the king and kingdom; to have
a share in the legislature; to be members of the highest court of
judicature, whence there can be no appeal; and to be champions
Gulliver's Travels |
