Literary notes about Guard (AI summary)
The term guard is employed in literature to convey both a literal and symbolic sense of protection and vigilance. In some works it denotes a physical barrier or military escort—soldiers safeguarding a palace, a fortress, or even a single individual ([1], [2], [3], [4])—while in others it assumes a more abstract role, representing the safeguarding of personal virtues, boundaries, or moral integrity ([5], [6], [7]). Authors also invoke the image of guard to suggest a cautious readiness and the act of defending against external threats, whether that means preventing physical intrusions or warding off emotional, political, or societal dangers ([8], [9], [10]). In this way, the word consistently enriches narratives by embodying both the tangible act of defense and its metaphorical counterpart.
- From Janasthán he stole the child Of Janak by his art beguiled, And in his palace locked and barred Surrounds her with a Rákshas guard.
— from The Rámáyan of Válmíki, translated into English verse by Valmiki - But it so happened that Brasidas, son of Tellis, a Spartan, was in command of a guard for the defence of the district.
— from The History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides - “At the appointed hour I shall be ready; only I believed that Monsieur had but one horse in the Guard stables.”
— from The three musketeers by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet - On either side of them walked the yeomen of the guard, the bright sunlight flashing from the polished blades of the steel halberds they carried.
— from The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle - I will be on my guard against fraudulent shams; I will go out to meet pleasure.
— from Emile by Jean-Jacques Rousseau - The heart is at once the knot of the veins and the source of the rapidly circulating blood, and is stationed in the guard-room of the body.
— from On the Sublime by active 1st century Longinus - Modesty is not only an Ornament, but also a Guard to Virtue.
— from The United States Bill of Rights The Ten Original Amendments to the Constitution of the United States by United States - At that time there existed a barrier at the eastern end of the village, at which all travellers had to exhibit their passports to the men on guard.
— from A Diplomat in Japan by Ernest Mason Satow - When the three strangers boldly entered the church, the [ 124 ] guard at the door arrested them, for they had on red clothes.
— from Filipino Popular Tales - “But how about our prisoners?” “Let your servants guard them.”
— from Twenty years after by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet
