Literary notes about Variance (AI summary)
In literature, the term “variance” is used to denote a divergence, discord, or difference between ideas, details, or even character traits. It often appears where contrasting viewpoints or conflicting details are at play—whether in theological discourse, historical accounts, or personal dilemmas. For instance, classical texts employ the word to highlight discrepancies between authors’ assertions or interpretations, as seen in discussions contrasting modern theories with ancient ones [1, 2, 3]. In ethical and philosophical debates, “variance” underscores the tension between ideals and practical realities, setting moral principles in opposition [4, 5, 6]. The term is also deployed to describe interpersonal or internal conflict, where characters may find themselves at odds with their own nature or with society’s expectations [7, 8, 9]. Additionally, in matters of law and order, it is used to point out differences between statutes or customs across different jurisdictions [10, 11]. Overall, its frequent appearance across varied genres and contexts highlights its versatility in marking disagreement, opposition, or the mere state of things not aligning with one another [12, 13].
- to cause to disagree, set at variance, Mat. 10.35.
— from A Greek-English Lexicon to the New Testament by William Greenfield - Subsequent research has proved Ctesias to be wrong and Herodotus generally right in the many statements in which they are at variance.
— from The Anabasis of Alexander by Arrian - Adeimantus further argues that the ideal is wholly at variance with facts; for experience proves philosophers to be either useless or rogues.
— from The Republic of Plato by Plato - For similar reasons Law and Positive Morality may be at variance, in details.
— from The Methods of Ethics by Henry Sidgwick - A man can never do anything at variance with his own nature.
— from Adam Bede by George Eliot - The ideal is not easily reduced to the conditions of actual life, and may often be at variance with them.
— from The Republic of Plato by Plato - So now I am at rest for another week, and no longer at variance with myself.
— from The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - The merry lilt with which he had invested the jingle was at variance with the dejection that came into his face as he finished.
— from Martin Eden by Jack London - Thus close, the word was paralyzing, so utterly at variance with all the principles that had hitherto guided his life.
— from The Forsyte Saga, Volume I. by John Galsworthy - The decree of one jurisdiction, on any particular question, will often be found at variance with that of another, while a third will differ from both.
— from The Principles of Masonic Law by Albert Gallatin Mackey - The laws of states ought to be the models of writing, and what is at variance with them should be deemed ridiculous.
— from Laws by Plato - Soon he will learn to distinguish when the native’s behaviour is in harmony with his own, and when, as it sometimes happens, the two are at variance.
— from Argonauts of the Western Pacific by Bronislaw Malinowski - Capulet, heads of two houses at variance with each other.
— from The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
