Literary notes about leisure (AI summary)
In literature, leisure is not merely idle time but a multifaceted concept that serves as a vehicle for reflection, creativity, and personal development. At times it provides space for introspection and meditation on one’s life or circumstances, as when a character, freed from distraction, considers deeper matters [1] or proceeds at a measured pace in a grand journey [2]. Leisure is also celebrated as a period conducive to intellectual pursuits and aesthetic appreciation, with some authors equating undisturbed free time to the cultivation of the self [3]. Furthermore, it is portrayed as both a privilege and a necessity, allowing individuals to step back from routine obligations, thereby creating a fertile ground for self-improvement and the pursuit of lofty ideals [4].
- My mistress having left us, I had leisure to think of Sergeant Cuff.
— from The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins - " With this he left them to come on at their leisure, while he went quickly forward and soon reached the house of his master.
— from The Odyssey by Homer - Accordingly, the greatest minds of all ages have set the highest value upon undisturbed leisure, as worth exactly as much as the man himself.
— from The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer: the Wisdom of Life by Arthur Schopenhauer - Then man acquires the leisure in which to develop himself into something new and more lofty.
— from The Will to Power: An Attempted Transvaluation of All Values. Book III and IV by Nietzsche
