Literary notes about foundation (AI summary)
The word “foundation” is employed with remarkable versatility in literature, serving both as a metaphor for underlying principles and as a literal description of structural bases. At times it represents the core ideas upon which grand systems—whether in philosophy, morality, or government—are built, as in discussions of natural unity or the ethical imperatives that support society [1, 2]. In other instances, it denotes the tangible starting point of construction, be it the cornerstone of a temple or the strategic base of a civilization [3, 4]. The term also connotes a grounding in theory or practice, marking the inception of psychoanalytic thought or even the practical launch of a personal fortune [5, 6]. This layered usage highlights how “foundation” bridges abstract thought and material reality across a wide spectrum of literary works.
- But if I insist on basing nature upon the foundation of a supreme ordaining Being, the unity of nature is in effect lost.
— from The Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant - Thus far Socrates has proceeded in placing religion on a moral foundation.
— from Euthyphro by Plato - Thou struckest the head of the house of the wicked: thou hast laid bare his foundation even to the neck.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - And the king commanded that they should bring great stones, costly stones, for the foundation of the temple, and should square them: 5:18.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - Accordingly, Breuer's discovery still remains the foundation of psychoanalytic therapy.
— from A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud - He was in the secret of the famous scarcity of grain, and laid the foundation of his fortune in those days by selling flour for ten times its cost.
— from Father Goriot by Honoré de Balzac
