Literary notes about gregarious (AI summary)
The term "gregarious" is employed in literature to capture an innate tendency toward sociality and communal behavior, whether describing the intrinsic nature of human beings or the observable traits of animals. In works by Nietzsche, it is used to critique and analyze human instincts and moral values, suggesting that our desires and ethical frameworks are deeply influenced by our collective nature [1][2][3][4]. At the same time, the word vividly characterizes animal behavior—from birds clustering in flocks to creatures that thrive in herds—emphasizing both biological and metaphorical dimensions of sociability [5][6][7][8]. This multifaceted usage enriches literary narratives by bridging observations of the natural world with insights into human society and temperament [9][10][11][12].
- Ye are so constituted that ye actually regard your gregarious wants as an ideal!
— from The Will to Power: An Attempted Transvaluation of All Values. Book III and IV by Nietzsche - Do we want to become tyrants, and seducers, or do we want to become shepherds and gregarious animals?
— from The Will to Power: An Attempted Transvaluation of All Values. Book III and IV by Nietzsche - When the gregarious animal stands in the glorious rays of the purest virtue, the exceptional man must be degraded to the rank of the evil.
— from Ecce Homo by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche - Gregarious consciousness and timorousness transferred to philosophy and religion.
— from The Will to Power: An Attempted Transvaluation of All Values. Book I and II by Nietzsche - In this we, perhaps, see the origin of the gregarious instinct in most birds, if not in all.
— from Bird Life Glimpses by Edmund Selous - Like the common domestic Hen, these Grouse are strictly gregarious, especially during the autumnal and winter months.
— from Nests and Eggs of Birds of the United States Illustrated by Thomas G. (Thomas George) Gentry - These birds are extremely gregarious, and have been seen at sunset to cluster upon the trunk of a gigantic cypress like a swarm of bees.
— from Four Months in a Sneak-Box A Boat Voyage of 2600 Miles Down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, and Along the Gulf of Mexico by Nathaniel H. (Nathaniel Holmes) Bishop - The horse is a very gregarious creature.
— from The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle - Mr. Tweet, being a gregarious person, did not like to be left alone, so followed the others' example.
— from The She Boss: A Western Story by Arthur Preston Hankins - That circumstance will largely influence his happiness if, being a man, he is a gregarious and sympathetic animal.
— from The Life of Reason: The Phases of Human Progress by George Santayana - On the other hand, he was human, and his gregarious need for companionship remained unsatisfied.
— from Martin Eden by Jack London - It is easy to see why people are so bored; and also why they are sociable, why they like to go about in crowds—why mankind is so gregarious .
— from The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer; Counsels and Maxims by Arthur Schopenhauer
