| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Dynamiter by Robert Louis Stevenson and Fanny Van De Grift Stevenson: to his unhappy guest. Finally, the course of Zero's bland
monologue led him to the young lady of two days ago: that
young lady, who had flashed on Somerset for so brief a while
but with so conquering a charm; and whose engaging grace,
communicative eyes, and admirable conduct of the sweeping
skirt, remained imprinted on his memory.
'You saw her?' said Zero. 'Beautiful, is she not? She, too,
is one of ours: a true enthusiast: nervous, perhaps, in
presence of the chemicals; but in matters of intrigue, the
very soul of skill and daring. Lake, Fonblanque, de Marly,
Valdevia, such are some of the names that she employs; her
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Ion by Plato: professes to have all knowledge, which is derived by him from Homer, just
as the sophist professes to have all wisdom, which is contained in his art
of rhetoric. Even more than the sophist he is incapable of appreciating
the commonest logical distinctions; he cannot explain the nature of his own
art; his great memory contrasts with his inability to follow the steps of
the argument. And in his highest moments of inspiration he has an eye to
his own gains.
The old quarrel between philosophy and poetry, which in the Republic leads
to their final separation, is already working in the mind of Plato, and is
embodied by him in the contrast between Socrates and Ion. Yet here, as in
the Republic, Socrates shows a sympathy with the poetic nature. Also, the
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Theaetetus by Plato: seeing that we are no great wits, shall I venture to say what knowing is?
for I think that the attempt may be worth making.
THEAETETUS: Then by all means venture, and no one shall find fault with
you for using the forbidden terms.
SOCRATES: You have heard the common explanation of the verb 'to know'?
THEAETETUS: I think so, but I do not remember it at the moment.
SOCRATES: They explain the word 'to know' as meaning 'to have knowledge.'
THEAETETUS: True.
SOCRATES: I should like to make a slight change, and say 'to possess'
knowledge.
THEAETETUS: How do the two expressions differ?
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