Literary notes about Proselyte (AI summary)
The term "proselyte" has been employed in literature both in literal and metaphorical senses, often to underscore themes of conversion, transformation, and advocacy of faith. In some texts, like those by Shelley and Bernstein, the word denotes an individual actively converting to a new faith or being used as a symbol of fervent commitment—a "new prospect" who not only adopts a belief system but also becomes an argument for its establishment ([1], [2], [3]). Similarly, Jefferson and Addison and Steele invoke the term to suggest that every convert serves as tangible support or validation for the faith they embrace ([4], [5]). Additionally, its usage extends to more nuanced contexts, as seen in Bernstein’s accounts where it addresses the dynamics of religious outreach, and even in poetic literature like Scott’s work, where the term is interwoven into broader narrative and dramatic expressions of loyalty ([6], [7], [8]).
- Such was the result of my attempt to gain over the proselyte of this man of crime; I could not conceive that he would dare put me to
— from The Last Man by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - "—Stopping short, I clasped my hands, and with the fervour of a new proselyte, cried, "Doubt me not, Adrian, I also will become wise and good!"
— from The Last Man by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - Several [252] rabbis came now to Gurland and, like the Protestant, asked him whether Faltin wished to become a Ger (proselyte) to Judaism.
— from Some Jewish Witnesses For Christ by Aaron Bernstein - Every Proselyte is like a new Argument for the Establishment of his Faith.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson - Every Proselyte is like a new Argument for the Establishment of his Faith.
— from The Spectator, Volume 1 by Joseph Addison and Sir Richard Steele - [119] as having been an associate of Rev. J. Neander, and of another proselyte, Bonhome, in the evangelization of the Jews in New York, about 1845.
— from Some Jewish Witnesses For Christ by Aaron Bernstein - Not that Bilderdyk ever sought to make a proselyte of his young disciple.
— from Some Jewish Witnesses For Christ by Aaron Bernstein - On nature's raptures long should pry; He stepped between—' Nay, Douglas, nay, Steal not my proselyte away!
— from The Lady of the Lake by Walter Scott
