Literary notes about Contemplative (AI summary)
In literature, “contemplative” is often employed to evoke a state of profound introspection or reflective serenity that contrasts sharply with active engagement in the world. Writers use the term to characterize a lifestyle devoted to inner thought and spiritual inquiry, as seen in sentiments that champion a reflective existence over bustling activity ([1], [2]). At times, it describes a measured, almost pensive mood in individuals—whether portrayed as absorbed in quiet meditation or lost in soft melancholy ([3], [4], [5]). Moreover, in philosophical and theological discussions, “contemplative” encapsulates the pursuit of understanding divine or abstract truths, leaning towards a life of intellectual and existential inquiry ([6], [7], [8]).
- I am altogether for the life contemplative.
— from The Works of Charles and Mary Lamb — Volume 2 by Charles Lamb and Mary Lamb - It reconciles the sharp antithesis between the active and the contemplative life.
— from Bede's Ecclesiastical History of England by Saint the Venerable Bede - Chick leans back against the table and smokes in sullen, contemplative silence.
— from Goat Alley: A Tragedy of Negro Life by Ernest Howard Culbertson - Her manner was contemplative; her eyes for a moment were deep, shadowless pools of reverie.
— from The Siege of the Seven Suitors by Meredith Nicholson - The afternoon was drawing to a close—it was the hour for the throng of carriages and of contemplative pedestrians.
— from Daisy Miller: A Study by Henry James - The contemplative mind, attempting its return to divinity, is constantly dragged back toward the senses by the life currents.
— from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda - 2. How came it to pass that many of the Saints were so perfect, so contemplative of Divine things?
— from The Imitation of Christ by à Kempis Thomas - And it is the contemplative, interior, spirit-filled life with which Mysticism has pre-eminently to do.
— from Fénelon: The Mystic by James Mudge
