Literary notes about Reap (AI summary)
The word "reap" is employed across literature to convey both the literal act of harvesting and the metaphorical gathering of consequences from prior actions. In some works it vividly evokes the natural cycle, as in a lyric inquiry about a timely harvest [1] or descriptions of the seasonal work of sowing in agricultural landscapes [2]. In others, it figuratively underscores a principle of moral justice—the idea that one's actions, like seeds sown, inevitably yield corresponding outcomes, a concept reiterated in morally charged passages [3, 4, 5, 6]. Additionally, the term is used to illustrate the fruition of human endeavors and the resulting advantages or criticisms one must face, whether in a personal context [7, 8] or as a broader societal commentary [9]. Thus, "reap" functions as a powerful symbol of the inescapable link between cause and effect in both natural and ethical spheres.
- O Mother, Mother, what hast thou to reap, When the harvest cometh, between wake and sleep?
— from Medea of Euripides by Euripides - The people sow their wheat and barley and other corn in the month of November, and reap it in the month of March.
— from The Travels of Marco Polo — Volume 1 by Marco Polo and da Pisa Rusticiano - What thou sowest," he repeated, getting up from the table, "that shalt thou reap.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
— from The King James Bible - They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - Now this I say: He who soweth sparingly shall also reap sparingly: and he who soweth in blessings shall also reap blessings.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - He carried a hard business well through, and died when other folks were going to reap the fruits.
— from Adam Bede by George Eliot - If a man has a genuine article, there is no way in which he can reap more advantageously than by "sowing" to the public in this way.
— from The art of money getting : by P. T. Barnum - There is nothing for me but to stand helpless and see other people reap the astonishing harvest.”
— from The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner