Literary notes about selfless (AI summary)
In literature, “selfless” is often used to evoke an ideal of noble sacrifice and pure altruism. Its usage characterizes individuals who put the needs of others, or an abstract cause, before their own interests, as when a character devotes his or her life to serving others without recognition [1, 2]. Equally, the term can elevate otherwise ordinary endeavors to acts of almost divine significance, suggesting that such self-transcendence is an inner fire that fuels social, moral, or spiritual transformation [3, 4]. At times, authors also probe its paradoxical nature—suggesting that an obsessive commitment to selflessness might obscure personal identity or pave the way for internal conflict [5, 6]. In every context, “selfless” functions as a potent emblem of moral fortitude and an aspirational benchmark for both character and communal ideals.
- And why should he wear out his life in the selfless service of those who, it seemed, acknowledged no obligation to him?
— from Queed: A Novel by Henry Sydnor Harrison - Otherwise, he was the most selfless person I ever met.
— from A Life For a Love: A Novel by L. T. Meade - "The protective, selfless, upbuilding power lies close to Nature."
— from The Bright Messenger by Algernon Blackwood - The keynote of Ṣúfiism is disinterested, selfless devotion, in a word, Love.
— from A Literary History of the Arabs by Reynold Alleyne Nicholson - To seem selfless is but your particular way of cultivating the perfection of self.
— from The Works of John GalsworthyAn Index of the Project Gutenberg Works of Galsworthy by John Galsworthy - The psychological error out of which the antithesis "moral" and "immoral" arose is: "selfless," "unselfish," "self-denying"—all unreal and fantastic.
— from The Will to Power: An Attempted Transvaluation of All Values. Book III and IV by Nietzsche
