Literary notes about Aim (AI summary)
The word "aim" serves as a multifaceted term in literature, functioning both in a literal and a metaphorical sense. At times it denotes the physical act of directing a weapon or gesture—illustrated by precise, calculated actions such as an archer’s shot [1, 2, 3] or a soldier drawing a weapon towards a foe [4, 5]. In other passages, "aim" refers to the pursuit of objectives, ranging from personal ambition or creative intent to broader social or philosophical goals, as when a character outlines a life plan [6, 7] or when lofty purposes in education and art are articulated [8, 9, 10]. This dual usage, merging tangible physicality with abstract intention, enriches the narrative by allowing authors to explore both concrete actions and the existential drive behind human endeavors [11, 12, 13, 14].
- " Swift as the word the missile lance he flings; The well-aim'd weapon on the buckler rings, But blunted by the brass, innoxious falls.
— from The Iliad by Homer - As he turned half round, gazing in that direction, a soldier took aim at him.
— from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo - The hare stopped short, took aim and, hark!
— from Struwwelpeter: Merry Stories and Funny Pictures by Heinrich Hoffmann - “The man toward whom the famished soldier drew near did not flee, but lay flat on the ground, and took aim at the one who was coming toward him.
— from Complete Original Short Stories of Guy De Maupassant by Guy de Maupassant - “Well, a soldier once told me that they were always ordered to aim at the middle of the body.
— from The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - It has been my aim to diversify as much as possible the details of this volume.
— from Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, v. 1 of 3 by James Tod - It has been my aim to have them speak with directness and frankness about anything that concerns the life of the school.
— from Up from Slavery: An Autobiography by Booker T. Washington - And the great aim of education is the cultivation of the habit of abstraction.
— from The Republic of Plato by Plato - We have just pointed out the futility of trying to establish the aim of education—some one final aim which subordinates all others to itself.
— from Democracy and Education: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education by John Dewey - The direct aim of reason is harmony; yet harmony, when made to rule in life, gives reason a noble satisfaction which we call happiness.
— from The Life of Reason: The Phases of Human Progress by George Santayana - Now the whole aim of my play is to throw that guilt on the British public itself.
— from Mrs. Warren's Profession by Bernard Shaw - He could not help feeling now, since the meaning of this system had become clear to him, that the aim of his energy was a most unworthy one.
— from Anna Karenina by graf Leo Tolstoy - Any bookish flavor attaching itself to our work would soon replace a natural fragrance we aim to preserve, namely our close contact with the subject.
— from Cookery and Dining in Imperial Rome by Apicius - His aim was to provide the Hellenic counterpart of the positive revealed religion of Christianity.
— from The Works of the Emperor Julian, Vol. 1 by Emperor of Rome Julian
