Literary notes about sincere (AI summary)
Literary authors use "sincere" to evoke a sense of unfiltered honesty and genuine emotion in both character and sentiment. In many works, the term marks an inner quality that contrasts with pretense or superficiality—as when a character is admired for an unassuming, heartfelt nature ([1], [2], [3]). At other times, it punctuates declarations of true friendship or love, underscoring relationships built on pure, unalloyed affection ([4], [5], [6]). In philosophical and reflective passages, "sincere" also comes to denote a moral integrity or earnest conviction in thought and action ([7], [8], [9]). This recurring motif reinforces the value placed on authenticity and transparency across diverse literary landscapes.
- “When I say I should like to be your age I mean with your qualities—frank, generous, sincere like you.
— from The Portrait of a Lady — Volume 1 by Henry James - He thought everybody as plain and sincere as he was.
— from The History of John Bull by John Arbuthnot - And certainly he was sincere, but his love extended a long way beyond the province of physical desire.
— from Swann's Way by Marcel Proust - The whole house kept holiday when my arrival became known, and I have never met with more sincere regard than in that delightful family.
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova - "Don't be troubled, Meg, poverty seldom daunts a sincere lover.
— from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott - "Your sincere friend and servant, " James Laurence. "
— from Little Women; Or, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy by Louisa May Alcott - Let your letter, then, be short, (not heartlessly so) but let its words, though few, be warm and sincere.
— from The Gentlemen's Book of Etiquette and Manual of Politeness by Cecil B. Hartley - In regard to his speech, he is anxious that it should be sincere.
— from The Analects of Confucius (from the Chinese Classics) by Confucius - I have rarely met a fellowman on such promising ground—it was so simple and sincere and so true all that he said.
— from Walden, and On The Duty Of Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau
