| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbot: What therefore "introduction" is among the higher classes
in Spaceland, that the process of "feeling" is with us.
"Permit me to ask you to feel and be felt by my friend Mr. So-and-so"
-- is still, among the more old-fashioned of our country gentlemen
in districts remote from towns, the customary formula for
a Flatland introduction. But in the towns, and among men of business,
the words "be felt by" are omitted and the sentence is abbreviated to,
"Let me ask you to feel Mr. So-and-so"; although it is assumed,
of course, that the "feeling" is to be reciprocal.
Among our still more modern and dashing young gentlemen -- who are
extremely averse to superfluous effort and supremely indifferent
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Iliad by Homer: with the shield crushing him under it, but Apollo raised him at
once. Thereon they would have hacked at one another in close
combat with their swords, had not heralds, messengers of gods and
men, come forward, one from the Trojans and the other from the
Achaeans--Talthybius and Idaeus both of them honourable men;
these parted them with their staves, and the good herald Idaeus
said, "My sons, fight no longer, you are both of you valiant, and
both are dear to Jove; we know this; but night is now falling,
and the behests of night may not be well gainsaid."
Ajax son of Telamon answered, "Idaeus, bid Hector say so, for it
was he that challenged our princes. Let him speak first and I
The Iliad |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Case of The Lamp That Went Out by Grace Isabel Colbron and Augusta Groner: Winkler's persecution she had lost her head completely and instead
of confessing to her husband and asking for his aid and protection,
she had pawned the rich jewels which had been his wedding present to
get the money demanded by the blackmailer. In her ignorance she had
thought that this one sum would satisfy him.
But he came again and again, demanding money which she saved from
her pin money, from her household allowance, thus taking what she
had intended to use to redeem her jewels. The pledge was lost, and
her jewels gone forever. From now on, Mrs. Thorne lived in a terror
which sapped her strength and drank her life blood drop by drop. Any
hour might bring discovery, a discovery which she feared would shake
|
