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Literary notes about Commend (AI summary)

In literature, the word "commend" performs a dual role, functioning both as an expression of entrusting or bidding farewell and as a means of recommending something worthy of praise. At times, authors use it to pass on personal affection or responsibility, as in formal valedictions like “I commend me to thee” [1] or in parting words where care is entrusted to another [2, 3]. In other contexts, it serves as a recommendation of character or conduct, evident in exhortations that urge the reader to consider a work or quality favorably [4, 5]. Moreover, the term can be wielded with a critical edge, suggesting that some ideas or methods lack a natural appeal, as when an argument “doesn’t commend itself to reason” [6]. This versatility underscores the term’s enduring appeal in conveying both personal sentiment and evaluative judgment.
  1. [Reads] 'I commend me to thee, I commend thee, and I leave thee.
    — from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
  2. Farewell, be trusty, and I’ll quit thy pains; Farewell; commend me to thy mistress.
    — from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
  3. Run, Lucius, and commend me to my lord; Say I am merry; come to me again, And bring me word what he doth say to thee.
    — from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
  4. I would commend these volumes, and especially the one entitled "Sadhana," the collection of essays, to all intelligent readers.
    — from My Reminiscences by Rabindranath Tagore
  5. Upon the whole, I commend my own conduct in this affair extremely, and regard it as a very happy instance of circumspection and tenderness.
    — from Lady Susan by Jane Austen
  6. That won't hold water; it doesn't commend itself to reason."
    — from The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

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