Literary notes about chaos (AI summary)
Literature employs “chaos” in multifaceted ways, often as a symbol of primordial beginning as well as a metaphor for human disorder. In many classical texts, chaos is depicted as the original state from which order and life are born—a void preceding the creation of Earth and Love ([1], [2], [3], [4]). At the same time, chaos is used to convey human and societal turmoil, suggesting both emotional disarray and historical upheaval—from personal inner conflicts ([5], [6]) to the disruptive pulse of war and revolution ([7], [8]). Moreover, some works hint at the creative potential inherent in chaos, where its unruly nature becomes the very source from which new order can emerge ([9], [10]).
- As Hesiod says:— 'First Chaos came, and then broad-bosomed Earth, The everlasting seat of all that is, And Love.'
— from Symposium by Plato - Or, how could there have been motion in the chaos when as yet time was not?
— from Timaeus by Plato - In other words, after Chaos, the Earth and Love, these two, came into being.
— from Symposium by Plato - The creation of the world is the impression of order on a previously existing chaos.
— from Timaeus by Plato - Only those items which I notice shape my mind—without selective interest, experience is an utter chaos.
— from The Principles of Psychology, Volume 1 (of 2) by William James - I picked myself up and stood trembling, my mind a chaos of the most horrible misgivings.
— from The island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells - On July 4, all Europe had been in peace; on July 14, Europe was in full chaos of war.
— from The Education of Henry Adams by Henry Adams - Then he went tearing around the house again spreading chaos and destruction in his path.
— from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Complete by Mark Twain - Out of this chaos and vision of imminent destruction Abd-er-Rahmān had evolved order and prosperity.
— from The Moors in Spain by Stanley Lane-Poole - She is the guiding spirit, the executive power that leads the forlorn hope and brings order out of chaos.
— from The Life and Work of Susan B. Anthony (Volume 1 of 2) by Ida Husted Harper