Literary notes about Moderate (AI summary)
In literature, "moderate" is frequently employed as a descriptor that conveys a sense of measured balance or restraint, whether referring to behavior, physical qualities, or quantitative measures. Authors use the term to praise a measured skill set that may ultimately prove more admirable than unbridled brilliance, as seen when La Rochefoucauld notes that moderate abilities can secure greater reputation than overt talent [1]. The word is also applied to economic and governmental contexts, signifying costs, compensations, and financial measures that are neither excessive nor insufficient [2], [3]. In descriptions of nature or architecture, "moderate" helps set boundaries, from the dimensions of a cavern or mansion to the size of trees or even the steadiness of winds [4], [5], [6]. Moreover, character temperaments and verbal expressions are frequently moderated, suggesting a middle ground that values self-restraint over extreme passion or excess [7], [8]. This versatility imbues the term with a sense of equilibrium rooted in both physical measurement and moral judgment, making it a favored qualifier in a wide range of literary contexts [9], [10].
- 162.—The art of using moderate abilities to advantage wins praise, and often acquires more reputation than real brilliancy.
— from Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims by François duc de La Rochefoucauld - It is the compensation, and, in most cases, it is no more than a very moderate compensation for the risk and trouble of employing the stock.
— from An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith - The other expenses of government were, the greater part of them, very moderate.
— from An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith - On April 13, 1867, with a smooth sea and a moderate breeze, the Scotia lay in longitude 15° 12' and latitude 45° 37'.
— from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas: An Underwater Tour of the World by Jules Verne - The place where they had halted was wider, so as to form a cavern of moderate dimensions.
— from The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne - Entering the courtyard, the britchka halted before a moderate-sized mansion.
— from Dead Souls by Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol - But when he proceeds to mention his own journey into Egypt, his language insensibly becomes more cautious and moderate.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon - Like other dwellers in the south, he was a man of sober habits and moderate desires, but fond of external show, vain, and addicted to display.
— from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet - No, a rough skin, a stinking breath, and a fortification carried with far too much ease; nothing could moderate my amorous fury.”
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova - “I repeat, moderate your expectations, don't demand of me ‘everything great and noble’
— from The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky