| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Marie by H. Rider Haggard: Dingaan thought that he was a child that he, Dingaan, should demand
horses which did not belong to him. He added that these horses had been
restored to the Boers, from whom Sikonyela had stolen them.
When Dingaan had expressed himself satisfied with this answer, Retief
opened the question of the treaty. The king replied however, that the
white men had but just arrived, and he wished to see them dance after
their own fashion. As for the business, it might "sit still" till
another day.
So in the end the Boers "danced" for his amusement. That is, they
divided into two parties, and charged each other at full gallop, firing
their guns into the air, an exhibition which seemed to fill all present
Marie |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Charmides by Plato: supply anything which, owing to the genius of the language or some accident
of composition, is omitted in the Greek, but is necessary to make the
English clear and consecutive.
It is difficult to harmonize all these conflicting elements. In a
translation of Plato what may be termed the interests of the Greek and
English are often at war with one another. In framing the English sentence
we are insensibly diverted from the exact meaning of the Greek; when we
return to the Greek we are apt to cramp and overlay the English. We
substitute, we compromise, we give and take, we add a little here and leave
out a little there. The translator may sometimes be allowed to sacrifice
minute accuracy for the sake of clearness and sense. But he is not
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Several Works by Edgar Allan Poe: merry in honour of the time. I had told them that I should not
return until the morning, and had given them explicit orders not to
stir from the house. These orders were sufficient, I well knew, to
insure their immediate disappearance, one and all, as soon as my
back was turned.
I took from their sconces two flambeaux, and giving one to
Fortunato, bowed him through several suites of rooms to the archway
that led into the vaults. I passed down a long and winding
staircase, requesting him to be cautious as he followed. We
came at length to the foot of the descent, and stood together on
the damp ground of the catacombs of the Montresors.
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