Literary notes about Proved (AI summary)
In literature, the word "proved" is a versatile term used to indicate the process of demonstrating truth, validating character, or confirming an event through evidence or experience. Writers employ it to mark the moment when a claim is substantiated—whether it be a personal failing or achievement, as in a character admitting to shortcomings [1] or the confirmation of a knight’s valor [2]. It appears in both objective, evidentiary contexts—such as establishing the boundaries of a district [3] or confirming theories [4]—and in more narrative or evaluative frameworks, where a soldier’s or leader’s worth is revealed through action [5] or a plot twist unfolds [6]. Moreover, in philosophical and analytical texts, "proved" is used to lend a sense of rigor to arguments, as seen in the writings of Hume [7] or Nietzsche [8]. Across these varied examples, the term serves as a linchpin in transitioning from uncertainty to conviction, grounding both the factual and the dramatic in a demonstrable reality.
- “Say, rather, I would have watched, but my treacherous eyes betrayed me; twice have I proved myself unfit for the trust I bear.”
— from The Last of the Mohicans; A narrative of 1757 by James Fenimore Cooper - Ah, Nerovens de Lile, said Sir Launcelot, I am right glad that ye are proved a good knight, for now wit
— from Le Morte d'Arthur: Volume 1 by Sir Thomas Malory - During the summer it was proved by means of a survey that the spot where Sharp had been killed was within the District of Newcastle.
— from Toronto of Old by Henry Scadding - Experience has proved that the best way to cover a siege is to beat and pursue as far as possible the enemy's forces which could interfere.
— from The Art of War by baron de Antoine Henri Jomini - Generals Scott and Taylor proved themselves soldiers and patriots in the field, but Washington was fatal to both.
— from Memoirs of General William T. Sherman — Complete by William T. Sherman - I got her through my old friend, Blandly, who has proved himself throughout the most surprising trump.
— from Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson - The same truth may be proved still more evidently by that reasoning, which proved justice in general to be an artificial virtue.
— from A Treatise of Human Nature by David Hume - As if truth were proved by the mere fact that man survives!
— from The Will to Power: An Attempted Transvaluation of All Values. Book III and IV by Nietzsche