Literary notes about esoteric (AI summary)
In literature, "esoteric" is used to signify hidden truths and deeper layers of meaning that lie beneath the obvious or literal interpretation. Writers use it to describe doctrines, symbols, and teachings that are intended only for a select, initiated few, as seen in discussions of dual meanings where public messages are juxtaposed with secret, inner insights ([1], [2]). The term appears in contexts ranging from mystical and allegorical interpretations of ancient faiths to discussions of secret societies and recondite philosophical ideas ([3], [4]), inviting readers to consider the possibility that the surface narrative only hints at a far more intricate and concealed reality.
- He is not a great speaker; but whatever he says has an esoteric and an exoteric meaning; and some of his remarks about my vegetables went very deep.
— from The Works of Charles Dudley WarnerProject Gutenberg Editions by Charles Dudley Warner - The only one which I could then comprehend was exoteric ; that which was known to my elders was the esoteric meaning.
— from Ancient Pagan and Modern Christian Symbolism by Thomas Inman and M.R.C.S.E. John Newton - The delivery to disciples was secret, and the term used for this esoteric transmission means "handed over within the tower."
— from The Religions of Japan, from the Dawn of History to the Era of Méiji by William Elliot Griffis - The Brahmins knew it, Plato knew it, every student of the esoteric knows it.
— from The Antichrist by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
