Literary notes about COUNSEL (AI summary)
Literary authors employ the word "counsel" in a range of nuanced ways—from denoting legal representatives and formal advice to representing wisdom and strategic guidance. In some works, it stands for an appointed legal advocate, as seen when a character serves as counsel before a grand jury [1] or defends in court [2]. In other contexts, it signifies the act of seeking or dispensing thoughtful advice, as when characters deliberate over grave decisions [3, 4] or consult with trusted confederates to navigate complex situations [5, 6]. Moreover, classical texts invoke "counsel" to evoke divine wisdom or the inescapable need for prudence in the face of fate [7, 8], while later writings extend its meaning to everyday decision-making and the collective wisdom of communities [9, 10]. This multifaceted deployment underscores the word's persistent relevance across genres and eras.
- They would hear what counsel had to say in his stirring address to the grand jury.
— from Ulysses by James Joyce - Mr. Erskine was counsel for the defendants; Lord Ellenborough was the judge.
— from Moby Dick; Or, The Whale by Herman Melville - Concerning these, we will first of all give a word of counsel and reason, and the law shall come afterwards.
— from Laws by Plato - Wilt thou hearken to me, if I give thee counsel?
— from The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan Every Child Can Read by John Bunyan - Two may keep counsel when the third's away: Go to the Empress, tell her this I said.
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare - So he had gone with him for counsel, and likewise for defence.
— from Pan Tadeusz; or, The last foray in Lithuania by Adam Mickiewicz - But when he may in nowise overbear their blind counsel, and all goes at fierce Juno's beck, with many an appeal to gods and void sky, 'Alas!'
— from The Aeneid of Virgil by Virgil - Not to these shores did the god at Delos counsel thee, or Apollo bid thee find rest in Crete.
— from The Aeneid of Virgil by Virgil - Where there is no governor, the people shall fall: but there is safety where there is much counsel.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - So that happiness is made up of wisdom in counsel, a good condition of the sensations and health of body, good fortune, good reputation, and riches.
— from The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers by Diogenes Laertius
