Literary notes about appears (AI summary)
The term “appears” serves as a bridge between observation and interpretation in literature, marking moments when something is revealed or comes into perceptible focus. In classical writings, such as Plato’s Euthyphro [1] or Homer’s epic passages [2], it signals a dramatic unveiling or clarifies an element that demands deeper thought. Simultaneously, in more modern narratives and treatises—from Hume’s logical exposition [3] and Freud’s psychological probing [4] to Sherlock Holmes’s deductive observations [5] and legal arguments [6]—"appears" functions both as a descriptor of what is plainly seen and as a qualifier that invites cautious reflection. In this way, authors use the word to not only depict visible phenomena, as in Virgil’s vivid imagery [7], but also to imply that initial perceptions are open to further scrutiny or reinterpretation, making it a versatile tool across genres and styles.
- To purge away the crime appears to him in the light of a duty, whoever may be the criminal.
— from Euthyphro by Plato - See on the plain thy Grecian spouse appears, The friends and kindred of thy former years.
— from The Iliad by Homer - This clearly appears from the precedent explication of necessity.
— from A Treatise of Human Nature by David Hume - We shall wait until the hidden unconscious we are seeking appears of itself, as the missing word Monaco in the experiment which we have described.
— from A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud - You may safely trust him, for he appears to be too limp to get into any mischief.
— from Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle - So interpreted, it appears to me to be no contract at all, until the promisor's satisfaction is expressed.
— from The Common Law by Oliver Wendell Holmes - Adorn’d in white, a rev’rend priest appears, And off’rings to the flaming altars bears; A porket, and a lamb that never suffer’d shears.
— from The Aeneid by Virgil
