Literary notes about command (AI summary)
In literary works, "command" is used to evoke both tangible authority and an abstract sense of control. In historical narratives and military accounts, it denotes the exercise of leadership and the power to direct troops or people—for example, as a formal post in command of esteemed forces [1] or with a commander leading a brigade on the battlefield [2]. At the same time, dramatic literature explores a more personal and sometimes metaphysical interpretation; a sovereign's decree may not only order obedience but also underscore the speaker’s inner resolve or defiance [3], [4]. Beyond the battlefield, the term expands to suggest mastery over one’s faculties or even language itself, thus enriching the text with layered meanings that shift from the concrete to the metaphorical [5], [6].
- The command of these favored and formidable troops soon became the first office of the empire.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon - Samolas the Achaean was in command of this brigade.
— from Anabasis by Xenophon - I beseech thee, O king, do not command me any further.
— from The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 1 - Here was one of those men who command amazement in desperate circumstances.
— from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo - Every individual is continually exerting himself to find out the most advantageous employment for whatever capital he can command.
— from An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith - " She was silent.—Elinor's security sunk; but her self-command did not sink with it.
— from Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
