Literary notes about Disperse (AI summary)
The term "disperse" is employed across literature to evoke the image of scattering or dissipating both tangible and intangible elements. In some works it describes the physical breaking up of crowds or groups, as in scenes where people are ordered to disperse ([1], [2]) or when military commands lead to the dispersal of combatants ([3], [4]). At times, the word carries a more metaphorical weight—as when a character seeks to disperse a cloud of gloom or uncertainty ([5]) or when the winds disperse nature’s elements ([6]). Even in historical and biblical contexts, "disperse" is used to illustrate the act of scattering peoples or ideas, reinforcing themes of separation and the dissolution of unity ([7], [8]). This multifaceted usage underscores the word’s versatility in capturing both the physical and symbolic breaking apart of a collective whole.
- The crowd of Russians and Frenchmen began to disperse.
— from War and Peace by graf Leo Tolstoy - The guests began to disperse, some without taking leave of Hélène.
— from War and Peace by graf Leo Tolstoy - "DISPERSE IMMEDIATELY," a voice said, like God rattling in my skull.
— from Little Brother by Cory Doctorow - Montrose, beaten at Philiphaugh, was obliged to disperse the remains of his army and to fly, disguised as a servant.
— from Twenty years after by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet - While you were talking in the study I was looking at you,” Natásha began, evidently anxious to disperse the cloud that had come over them.
— from War and Peace by graf Leo Tolstoy - A powdery haze and flying clouds of dust, Which the stout winds disperse in the whole air.
— from On the Nature of Things by Titus Lucretius Carus - And I will disperse Egypt among the nations, and scatter them through the countries.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - My God hath shown me concerning mine enemies, that Thou shalt not slay them, lest they should at last forget Thy law: disperse them in Thy might."
— from The City of God, Volume II by Bishop of Hippo Saint Augustine
