Literary notes about universal (AI summary)
In literature, "universal" is deployed to evoke ideas that transcend particularities, suggesting qualities or phenomena that hold across time, space, or human experience. It is often used in grand narratives to denote comprehensive systems or histories, as seen when authors speak of a "Universal History" to describe the totality of human events [1, 2]. Philosophers and social theorists employ the term to designate natural laws or moral principles that apply unconditionally, whether in describing the inescapable laws of nature [3, 4, 5] or asserting rights and consent presumed to be shared by all humanity [6, 7]. At times, "universal" captures common sentiments or practices—in works where public laughter, customary attire, or the inherent good-will of a person is depicted as widespread occurrences [8, 9, 10]. This varied usage not only underscores an appeal to all-encompassing ideas but also bridges the abstract with the tangible, reinforcing literature’s power to connect individual experiences to larger, shared realities.
- The authors of the Universal History, part xii., assign forty millions sterling as the sum to about which the public revenue might amount.—G. from W.]
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon - Stay, here's Smaragdov's Universal History .
— from The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - Every time we move a foot or lift a weight we temporarily overcome one of the most universal of natural laws and yet the world is not disturbed.
— from The Art of Public Speaking by Dale Carnegie and J. Berg Esenwein - The universal law of suffering seems to be that it refines and softens humanity; and Coleridge was no exception to the law.
— from English Literature by William J. Long - 10 But the principle of sufficient reason is just the universal form of the object as such.
— from The World as Will and Idea (Vol. 1 of 3) by Arthur Schopenhauer - This proposal was received by the company with universal approval; Callias said that he would not let me off, and they begged me to choose an arbiter.
— from Protagoras by Plato - Principles of justice, to have any value or significance, must be universal in their application to all humanity.
— from History of Woman Suffrage, Volume I - This caused a universal burst of laughter.
— from Twenty years after by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet - It was her own universal good-will and contented temper which worked such wonders.
— from Emma by Jane Austen - This garment is practically universal among the Eskimo and varies very little in pattern.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson
