Literary notes about fertilize (AI summary)
The word "fertilize" in literature has been used both in its literal sense—nourishing soil—and in rich metaphorical ways that broaden its meaning. In instructional prose, for example, it signified the practical act of nurturing growth, as seen when Carnegie and Esenwein advise one to "fertilize and water the soil" to aid a tree’s health [1]. Cicero extended this idea, portraying a notion of overflowing largesse by which the earth is naturally enriched [2]. Authors like Guy de Maupassant employed it in descriptions of rural life, whether in the straightforward context of preparing the land for cultivation [3] or in a satirical portrayal of local politics entwined with agriculture [4]. In poetry, Pushkin transformed "fertilize" into a symbol of rejuvenation and correction, likening youthful passion to vernal storms that renew and amend the landscapes of the heart [5]. Durkheim, meanwhile, used the term to evoke a spiritual emanation, suggesting that only a part of the soul contributes to the nurturing of its metaphorical mother [6]. Even in the comic realm of Aristophanes' work, "fertilize" becomes a call to immediate, perhaps mischievous action [7].
- If the tree in your front yard is not growing to suit you, fertilize and water the soil and let the tree have sunshine.
— from The Art of Public Speaking by Dale Carnegie and J. Berg Esenwein - We fertilize the earth by overflowing it.
— from Cicero's Tusculan Disputations by Marcus Tullius Cicero - Once a year they go down into the quarry at the time they fertilize the ground.
— from Complete Original Short Stories of Guy De Maupassant by Guy de Maupassant - It was a neighbor, Osime Favet, the mayor, on his way to fertilize his fields, seated on the manure-wagon, with his feet hanging over the side.
— from Complete Original Short Stories of Guy De Maupassant by Guy de Maupassant - To Love all ages lowly bend, But the young unpolluted heart His gusts should fertilize, amend, As vernal storms the fields athwart.
— from Eugene Oneguine [Onegin] by Aleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin - It is not the whole soul which comes to fertilize the mother, but only an emanation from this soul.
— from The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life by Émile Durkheim - SPARTANS And mine I want to fertilize at once.
— from Lysistrata by Aristophanes