Literary notes about Ensure (AI summary)
In literature, the term "ensure" is often used to express the deliberate act of taking measures to guarantee a desired outcome, whether that outcome is the abundance of crops, the success of a venture, or the security of a community. Authors employ it to indicate that certain actions or rituals have been set in motion to secure results, as when ceremonial fires are kindled to ensure good harvests [1][2][3], or when strategic maneuvers are undertaken to ensure military victory [4][5][6]. At the same time, the word appears in more personal contexts, where individuals take steps to ensure their success, health, or even social standing [7][8][9]. Thus, "ensure" serves as a versatile term in literature, linking deliberate action to the attainment of certainty and protection.
- In Calymnos the midsummer fire is supposed to ensure abundance in the coming year as well as deliverance from fleas.
— from The Golden Bough: A Study of Magic and Religion by James George Frazer - Swedish peasants stick a leafy branch in each furrow of their corn-fields, believing that this will ensure an abundant crop.
— from The Golden Bough: A Study of Magic and Religion by James George Frazer - The custom was probably a charm to ensure the growth of the crops.
— from The Golden Bough: A Study of Magic and Religion by James George Frazer - To ensure that your whole host may withstand the brunt of the enemy's attack and remain unshaken - this is effected by maneuvers direct and indirect.
— from The Art of War by active 6th century B.C. Sunzi - We must start after him in order to ensure his marching thither; we must arrive before him in order to capture the place without trouble.
— from The Art of War by active 6th century B.C. Sunzi - You can ensure the safety of your defense if you only hold positions that cannot be attacked.
— from The Art of War by active 6th century B.C. Sunzi - We will set up a candidate, and ensure his success.
— from The Last Man by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - I am sure it is only necessary to put before so admirable a practitioner as Dr. Seward so simple, yet so momentous a wish, to ensure its fulfilment.”
— from Dracula by Bram Stoker - May I ask you then what you would advise me to do? I need hardly say I would do anything in the world to ensure Gwendolen’s happiness.
— from The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People by Oscar Wilde
