| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Contrast by Royall Tyler: mummers, whom you call actors, murder comedy and
make a farce of tragedy.
MANLY
Do you never attend the theatre, Sir?
DIMPLE
I was tortured there once.
CHARLOTTE
Pray, Mr. Dimple, was it a tragedy or a comedy?
DIMPLE
Faith, Madam, I cannot tell; for I sat with my
back to the stage all the time, admiring a much better
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Confessio Amantis by John Gower: And in his herte such plesance
He tok, whan he this Maide sih,
That al his herte aros on hih,
For he so sodeinliche unwar
Behield the beaute that sche bar.
And caste anon withinne his herte
That sche him schal no weie asterte, 6170
Bot if he take in avantage
Fro thilke maide som pilage,
Noght of the broches ne the Ringes,
Bot of some othre smale thinges
Confessio Amantis |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Apology by Plato: never says a word about them. Nor is he paid for giving instruction--that
is another mistaken notion:--he has nothing to teach. But he commends
Evenus for teaching virtue at such a 'moderate' rate as five minae.
Something of the 'accustomed irony,' which may perhaps be expected to sleep
in the ear of the multitude, is lurking here.
He then goes on to explain the reason why he is in such an evil name. That
had arisen out of a peculiar mission which he had taken upon himself. The
enthusiastic Chaerephon (probably in anticipation of the answer which he
received) had gone to Delphi and asked the oracle if there was any man
wiser than Socrates; and the answer was, that there was no man wiser. What
could be the meaning of this--that he who knew nothing, and knew that he
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