| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Parmenides by Plato: place in juxtaposition two absolutely divided and incoherent subjects. And
hence we are led to make a second remark: viz. that no explanation of the
Parmenides can be satisfactory which does not indicate the connexion of the
first and second parts. To suppose that Plato would first go out of his
way to make Parmenides attack the Platonic Ideas, and then proceed to a
similar but more fatal assault on his own doctrine of Being, appears to be
the height of absurdity.
Perhaps there is no passage in Plato showing greater metaphysical power
than that in which he assails his own theory of Ideas. The arguments are
nearly, if not quite, those of Aristotle; they are the objections which
naturally occur to a modern student of philosophy. Many persons will be
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Ruling Passion by Henry van Dyke: to the reproach of offending any one of his patrons by unpleasant or
unseemly conduct.
"What did you do then, Pat?" I asked.
"Certainly I put out the pipe--what could I do otherwise? But I
thought that what the demoiselle Meelair has said was very strange,
and not true--exactly; for I have often seen the tobacco grow, and
it springs up out of the ground like the wheat or the beans, and it
has beautiful leaves, broad and green, with sometimes a red flower
at the top. Does the good God cause the filthy weeds to grow like
that? Are they not all clean that He has made? The potato--it is
not filthy. And the onion? It has a strong smell; but the
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Hidden Masterpiece by Honore de Balzac: attitude of a young Georgian, innocent and timid, captured by brigands
and offered to a slave-merchant. A modest blush suffused her cheeks,
her eyes were lowered, her hands hung at her sides, strength seemed to
abandon her, and her tears protested against the violence done to her
purity. Poussin cursed himself, and repented of his folly in bringing
this treasure from their peaceful garret. Once more he became a lover
rather than an artist; scruples convulsed his heart as he saw the eye
of the old painter regain its youth and, with the artist's habit,
disrobe as it were the beauteous form of the young girl. He was seized
with the jealous frenzy of a true lover.
"Gillette!" he cried; "let us go."
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