| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from A Sentimental Journey by Laurence Sterne: leaves, tied round with a tendril; - on opening it, I saw an S.
marked in one of the corners.
She had since that, she told me, stray'd as far as Rome, and walk'd
round St. Peter's once, - and return'd back; - that she found her
way alone across the Apennines; - had travell'd over all Lombardy,
without money, - and through the flinty roads of Savoy without
shoes: - how she had borne it, and how she had got supported, she
could not tell; - but GOD TEMPERS THE WIND, said Maria, TO THE
SHORN LAMB.
Shorn indeed! and to the quick, said I: and wast thou in my own
land, where I have a cottage, I would take thee to it, and shelter
|
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Crito by Plato: they are out of temper you will hear many degrading things; you will live,
but how?--as the flatterer of all men, and the servant of all men; and
doing what?--eating and drinking in Thessaly, having gone abroad in order
that you may get a dinner. And where will be your fine sentiments about
justice and virtue? Say that you wish to live for the sake of your
children--you want to bring them up and educate them--will you take them
into Thessaly and deprive them of Athenian citizenship? Is this the
benefit which you will confer upon them? Or are you under the impression
that they will be better cared for and educated here if you are still
alive, although absent from them; for your friends will take care of them?
Do you fancy that if you are an inhabitant of Thessaly they will take care
|
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Historical Lecturers and Essays by Charles Kingsley: been altogether unfounded. Stories which are incredible, thank God,
in these milder days, were credible enough then, because, alas! they
were so often true. Things more ugly than any related of poor Mary
were possible enough--as no one knew better than Buchanan--in that
very French court in which Mary had been brought up; things as ugly
were possible in Scotland then, and for at least a century later;
and while we may hope that Buchanan has overstated his case, we must
not blame him too severely for yielding to a temptation common to
all men of genius when their creative power is roused to its highest
energy by a great cause and a great indignation.
And that the genius was there, no man can doubt; one cannot read
|
