| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Prince by Nicolo Machiavelli: that prince who, relying entirely on their promises, has neglected
other precautions, is ruined; because friendships that are obtained by
payments, and not by greatness or nobility of mind, may indeed be
earned, but they are not secured, and in time of need cannot be relied
upon; and men have less scruple in offending one who is beloved than
one who is feared, for love is preserved by the link of obligation
which, owing to the baseness of men, is broken at every opportunity
for their advantage; but fear preserves you by a dread of punishment
which never fails.
Nevertheless a prince ought to inspire fear in such a way that, if he
does not win love, he avoids hatred; because he can endure very well
The Prince |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Lysis by Plato: master, or do they not even allow that?
Nay, he said; of course they do not allow it.
Then you have a master?
Yes, my tutor; there he is.
And is he a slave?
To be sure; he is our slave, he replied.
Surely, I said, this is a strange thing, that a free man should be governed
by a slave. And what does he do with you?
He takes me to my teachers.
You do not mean to say that your teachers also rule over you?
Of course they do.
Lysis |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle: on Dallen Lea, to be shot when the yeoman that won them chose.
The third prize was to be two tuns of good Rhenish wine.
So Sir Hugh spoke, and when he had done all the archers waved
their bows aloft and shouted. Then each band turned and marched
in order back to its place.
And now the shooting began, the captains first taking stand and speeding
their shafts and then making room for the men who shot, each in turn,
after them. Two hundred and eighty score shafts were shot in all,
and so deftly were they sped that when the shooting was done each target
looked like the back of a hedgehog when the farm dog snuffs at it.
A long time was taken in this shooting, and when it was over the judges
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood |
