Literary notes about compass (AI summary)
The word “compass” manifests a fascinating duality in literature, functioning both as a literal navigational tool and as a metaphor for mental or emotional boundaries. In narratives, it often denotes physical orientation and journeying—as characters traverse all points of the compass to chart new courses ([1], [2], [3])—while simultaneously serving as a symbol for the limits of understanding or capability, as when it is used to signify the range of thought and wit ([4], [5], [6]). This layered use endows the term with a rich, multifaceted quality that bridges the tangible act of navigation with the more abstract endeavor of comprehending life’s broader scope ([7], [8]).
- One night I go east, another night north, in a few nights I go all round the compass.
— from Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens - Before it went decidedly mad, the compass had never made the slightest mistake.
— from A Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne - Direction, E.S.E. This last observation referred to the obscure gallery, and was indicated to us by the compass.
— from A Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne - She is too big, I hope, for me to compass.
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare - To do this is within the compass of man's wit, and therefore I will attempt the doing it.
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare - The principal difficulty in the mathematics is the length of inferences and compass of thought, requisite to the forming of any conclusion.
— from An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding by David Hume - You see at once what a good start we have given him by making his eye his compass.
— from Emile by Jean-Jacques Rousseau - And he said to the people: Go, and compass the city, armed, marching before the ark of the Lord. 6:8.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete
