| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Charmides by Plato: which philosophers are vainly trying to define in words. In a similar
spirit we might say to a young man who is disturbed by theological
difficulties, 'Do not trouble yourself about such matters, but only lead a
good life;' and yet in either case it is not to be denied that right ideas
of truth may contribute greatly to the improvement of character.
The reasons why the Charmides, Lysis, Laches have been placed together and
first in the series of Platonic dialogues, are: (i) Their shortness and
simplicity. The Charmides and the Lysis, if not the Laches, are of the
same 'quality' as the Phaedrus and Symposium: and it is probable, though
far from certain, that the slighter effort preceded the greater one. (ii)
Their eristic, or rather Socratic character; they belong to the class
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Jungle Tales of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs: of hearts did she still esteem the smooth-skinned Tarzan?
Did her savage breast swell with pride as she witnessed
his victory over the ape? You will have to ask Teeka.
And Sheeta, the panther, saw that the she-ape had left
her cub alone among the grasses. He moved his tail again,
as though this closest approximation of lashing in which he
dared indulge might stimulate his momentarily waned courage.
The cry of the victorious ape-man still held his nerves
beneath its spell. It would be several minutes before he
again could bring himself to the point of charging into
view of the giant anthropoids.
The Jungle Tales of Tarzan |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Woodlanders by Thomas Hardy: "Well, yes, a sort of path. But it is hard to find from this
point. I'll show you the way, sir, with great pleasure."
"Thanks, my good friend. The truth is that I decided to walk
across the country after dinner from the hotel at Sherton, where I
am staying for a day or two. But I did not know it was so far."
"It is about a mile to the house from here."
They walked on together. As there was no path, Giles occasionally
stepped in front and bent aside the underboughs of the trees to
give his companion a passage, saying every now and then when the
twigs, on being released, flew back like whips, "Mind your eyes,
sir." To which the stranger replied, "Yes, yes," in a preoccupied
The Woodlanders |
