Literary notes about ideal (AI summary)
The word "ideal" in literature often functions as a benchmark for perfection, representing both an abstract standard and a tangible goal toward which individuals or societies strive. In philosophical works, it is invoked to denote the realm of immutable forms and the aspiration for an exemplary state, as seen in discussions of governance and the nature of beauty [1, 2, 3]. Literary authors extend this notion to personal virtue and social progress, suggesting that while the ideal might be inherently unattainable, it nevertheless defines the spirit of self-improvement and the pursuit of excellence [4, 5, 6]. At the same time, writers acknowledge the inevitable interplay between lofty ideals and the imperfections of reality, calling attention to the dynamic tension inherent in the very act of striving [7, 8].
- The ideal then approaches nearer to us, and we fondly cling to it.
— from The Republic by Plato - ‘You mean that he will be a citizen of the ideal city, which has no place upon earth.’
— from The Republic of Plato by Plato - But the future life is present still; the ideal of politics is to be realized in the individual.
— from The Republic by Plato - Poverty instantly lays material life bare and renders it hideous; hence inexpressible bounds towards the ideal life.
— from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo - He adds that the cultivator should have "in his mind an ideal of beauty, for the realisation of which he works with head and hand."
— from The King James Version of the Bible - Stendhal's ideal of love has various names: it is generally "passion-love," but more particularly "love [Pg vi] à l'italienne. "
— from On Love by Stendhal - After adopting an ideal it is necessary, therefore, without abandoning it, to recognise its relativity.
— from The Life of Reason: The Phases of Human Progress by George Santayana - Men and circumstances generally modify the ideal train of events, so that it seems imperfect, and its consequences are equally imperfect.
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven Edition by Edgar Allan Poe