| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Symposium by Xenophon: teaching." Like Sir John Falstaff's page (2 "Henry IV." ii. 2.
100), Niceratus, no doubt, has got many "a crown's worth of good
interpretations."
On beauty (answered Critobulus).
What (Socrates rejoined), shall you be able to maintain that by your
beauty you can make us better?
Crit. That will I, or prove myself a shabby sort of person.
Soc. Well, and what is it you pride yourself upon, Antisthenes?
On wealth (he answered).
Whereupon Hermogenes inquired: Had he then a large amount of
money?[17]
The Symposium |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Youth by Joseph Conrad: shipped our cargo.
"Then on a fine moonlight night, all the rats left the
ship.
"We had been infested with them. They had destroyed
our sails, consumed more stores than the crew, affably
shared our beds and our dangers, and now, when the
ship was made seaworthy, concluded to clear out. I
called Mahon to enjoy the spectacle. Rat after rat ap-
peared on our rail, took a last look over his shoulder,
and leaped with a hollow thud into the empty hulk.
We tried to count them, but soon lost the tale. Mahon
Youth |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Allan Quatermain by H. Rider Haggard: the same, but Sir Henry put on nothing except his mail shirt,
steel-lined cap, and a pair of 'veldt-schoons' or soft hide shoes,
his legs being bare from the knees down. His revolver he strapped
on round his middle outside the armoured shirt.
Meanwhile Umslopogaas was mustering the men in the square under
the big tree and going the rounds to see that each was properly
armed, etc. At the last moment we made one change. Finding
that two of the men who were to have gone with the firing parties
knew little or nothing of guns, but were good spearsmen, we took
away their rifles, supplied them with shields and long spears
of the Masai pattern, and took them off to join Curtis, Umslopogaas,
Allan Quatermain |
