Literary notes about Conceive (AI summary)
In literature, "conceive" is employed with a broad range of meanings that highlight the limits, possibilities, and nuances of thought. Authors use it to express the process of forming mental images or ideas—often emphasizing the difficulty or wonder inherent in understanding abstract or overwhelming concepts, as seen in discussions of terror, time, or cosmic order [1, 2, 3]. At other times, the word conveys the act of creation or begetting ideas, whether in the context of human relationships or even divine intervention, as demonstrated by its usage to describe both imaginative thought and literal conception [4, 5]. It also serves as a tool to explore reasoning and intellectual boundaries, showcasing the human struggle to grasp, anticipate, or even deny certain realities [6, 7, 8]. In each instance, "conceive" acts as a versatile term that encapsulates complex cognitive and existential endeavors.
- We can easily conceive that every fact in the world might be singular, that is, unlike any other fact and sole of its kind.
— from Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking by William James - It is hardly possible to conceive the extremity of my terror.
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven Edition by Edgar Allan Poe - It is easier to suppose that the universe has existed from all eternity than to conceive a being (beyond its limits) capable of creating it.”
— from The Radicalism of Shelley and Its Sources by Daniel J. MacDonald - And the lord of light thereupon made her conceive and begot on her a son who became the first of all wielders of weapons.
— from The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 1 - I fancied that Lucie would not only grant my prayer, but that she would conceive for me the highest esteem.
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova - If we conceive that anything pleasurably affects some object of our love, we shall be affected with love towards that thing.
— from Ethics by Benedictus de Spinoza - For in so far as we conceive a thing similar to ourselves to be affected with pain, we ourselves feel pain.
— from Ethics by Benedictus de Spinoza - Conceive mind as anything but one factor partaking along with others in the production of consequences, and it becomes meaningless.
— from Democracy and Education: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education by John Dewey
