MASTER. Is it impossible, then, to hold you by any ties but those of constraint and severity? Suppose I were to restore you to your liberty, would you reckon that a favour?
Slave. The greatest; for although it would only be undoing a wrong, I know too well how few among mankind are capable of sacrificing interest to justice not to prize the exertion when it is made.
Master. I do it, then; be free.
Slave. Now I am indeed your servant, though not your slave. And as the first return I can make for your kindness, I will tell you freely the condition in which you live. You are surrounded with implacable foes, who long for a safe opportunity to revenge upon you and the other planters all the miseries they have endured. You can rely on no kindness on your part, to soften the obduracy of their resentment. Superior force alone can give you security. As soon as that fails, you are at the mercy of the merciless. Such is the social bond between master and slave!*
Abridged
* The final peroration is remarkably similar to the warning offered by Professor Horatio Smith (Leslie Howard) to General von Graum (Francis L. Sullivan) in Pimpernel Smith (1941). “May a dead man say a few words to you, General, for your enlightenment? You will never rule the world, because you are doomed. All of you who have demoralized and corrupted a nation are doomed. Tonight you will take the first step along a dark road from which there is no turning back. You will have to go on and on, from one madness to another, leaving behind you a wilderness of misery and hatred. And still you will have to go on because you will find no horizon and see no dawn, until at last you are lost and destroyed.”
Précis
To his credit, the planter accepted that if only force could keep his slave, then he may as well let him go. The slave thanked him heartily, but warned him and other benevolent slaveowners that only force was keeping their slaves in line, and that when it wavered past kindnesses would not be remembered by those they had wronged. (59 / 60 words)
To his credit, the planter accepted that if only force could keep his slave, then he may as well let him go. The slave thanked him heartily, but warned him and other benevolent slaveowners that only force was keeping their slaves in line, and that when it wavered past kindnesses would not be remembered by those they had wronged.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: because, besides, otherwise, ought, since, until, whereas, whether.
About the Authors
Archive
Word Games
Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.
Jigsaws Based on this passage
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Doe. Mankind. Superior.
2 Comfortable. Their. Work.
3 Condition. Indeed. Now.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
Your Words ()
You are welcome to share your creativity with me, or ask for help with any of the exercises on Clay Lane. Write to me at this address:
See more at Email Support.
If you like what I’m doing here on Clay Lane, from time to time you could buy me a coffee.
Buy Me a Coffee is a crowdfunding website, used by over a million people. It is designed to help content creators like me make a living from their work. ‘Buy Me a Coffee’ prides itself on its security, and there is no need to register.
