| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Ancient Regime by Charles Kingsley: it has learnt, and that a most practical one--to appeal in all
cases, as much as possible, to "Reason and the Laws of Nature."
That, at least, the philosophers tried to do. Often they failed.
Their conceptions of reason and of the laws of nature being often
incorrect, they appealed to unreason and to laws which were not
those of nature. "The fixed idea of them all was," says M. de
Tocqueville, "to substitute simple and elementary rules, deduced
from reason and natural law, for the complicated traditional customs
which governed the society of their time." They were often rash,
hasty, in the application of their method. They ignored whole
classes of facts, which, though spiritual and not physical, are just
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne: course this internal sea will be surrounded by a coast of granite,
and on the opposite shores we shall find fresh passages opening."
"How long do you suppose this sea to be?"
"Thirty or forty leagues; so that we have no time to lose, and we
shall set sail to-morrow."
I looked about for a ship.
"Set sail, shall we? But I should like to see my boat first."
"It will not be a boat at all, but a good, well-made raft."
"Why," I said, "a raft would be just as hard to make as a boat, and I
don't see -"
"I know you don't see; but you might hear if you would listen. Don't
Journey to the Center of the Earth |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Ivanhoe by Walter Scott: canst stir me from the spot, fellow, I will freely bestow
on thee the Jew's ransom.''
So spoke the burly Priest, assuming, on his part,
high defiance. But who may resist his fate? The
buffet of the Knight was given with such strength
and good-will, that the Friar rolled head over heels
upon the plain, to the great amazement of all the
spectators. But he arose neither angry nor crestfallen.
``Brother,'' said he to the Knight, ``thou shouldst
have used thy strength with more discretion. I had
mumbled but a lame mass an thou hadst broken
Ivanhoe |
