Literary notes about Incomparable (AI summary)
The word "incomparable" has long served as a powerful intensifier in literature, used by authors to evoke singular excellence or an ineffable quality that defies ordinary comparison. For example, Emerson employs it to highlight the unique power of animal spirits in nature [1], while Yogananda uses it to elevate both sacred figures and transformative books [2], [3]. Similarly, writers like Henri Mouhot [4] and Richard Wagner [5] invoke the term to stress architectural marvels and the timeless beauty of cities, respectively. Beyond physical descriptions, "incomparable" is also employed to attribute exceptional virtues to characters or experiences, as seen in depictions of extraordinary mentors [6] and unmatched joy and virtue [7], [8]. This versatility demonstrates how "incomparable" functions as a literary tool to express something so unique or transcendent that it stands firmly apart from the mundane, whether referring to art, nature, or human qualities.
- In a good lord, there must first be a good animal, at least to the extent of yielding the incomparable advantage of animal spirits.
— from Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson by Ralph Waldo Emerson - He is my incomparable guru, the celestial Babaji!' "'Babaji!'
— from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda - How is everyone who has become familiar with that incomparable book stirred by that spirit to the very depths of his soul!
— from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda - Was this incomparable edifice the work of a single genius, who conceived the idea, and watched over the execution of it?
— from Travels in the Central Parts of Indo-China (Siam), Cambodia, and Laos (Vol. 1 of 2) by Henri Mouhot - Above all, the antique splendour and beauty of the incomparable city of Prague became indelibly stamped on my fancy.
— from My Life — Volume 1 by Richard Wagner - And the Prince had replied, "You are incomparable."
— from Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen by H. C. Andersen - Never was man more glad than I was then; my joy at that time was incomparable.
— from Gargantua and Pantagruel by François Rabelais - He was a man of incomparable virtue, and honored by God in a manner agreeable to his piety towards him.
— from Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus