An idea from Scott.... from Ric.....

I read this on Acting Up (see links below right):

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123
3. Find the fifth sentence
4. Post the text of the next 3 sentences on your blog along with these instructions

Well, here goes, Scott:

"To such bondage for the human mind and imagination I prefer even our avowed slavery. However that may be, the horrible condition which puts one man at the mercy of another ought to be carefully regulated by law. I saw to it that a slave should no longer be anonymous merchandise sold without regard for the family ties which he has formed, or a contemptible object whom a judge submits to torture before taking his testimony, instead of accepting it upon oath."

From 'Memoirs of Hadrian' by Marguerite Yourcenar (1955) London and Southampton: Secker and Warburg.

Actually, the sentences immediately preceding those three are perhaps even more interesting:

"I doubt if all the philosophy in the world can suceed in suppressing slavery; it will, at most, change the name. I can well imagine forms of servitude worse than our own, because more insidious, whether they transform men into stupid, complacent machines, who believe themselves free just when they are most subjugated, or whether to the exclusion of leisure and pleasures essential to man they develop a passion for work as violent as the passion for war among barbarous races." Hmm.

The 'Memoirs of Hadrian', is a work of fiction - though based on historical fact - supposedly narrated by the Emperor Hadrian himself. It's one of Bud's (many) dusty old books and was the nearest book to hand on the right side of my desk.

And now, if you're not Scott (or Ric), it's your turn....