Literary notes about higher (AI summary)
The term “higher” is a versatile device in literature, used to suggest both literal elevations and abstract, qualitative improvements. In many texts, it denotes physical altitude—as in describing mountain regions [1], structures [2, 3] or landscapes [4]—and is employed to symbolize ascending positions or statuses in society and rank [5, 6]. At the same time, “higher” often marks an elevation of thought, tone, or spiritual essence, as when authors contrast mundane experiences with ideals or superior qualities [7, 8, 9]. This dual function allows writers to bridge the physical with the metaphysical, evoking a sense of progression that ranges from tangible heights to the pinnacle of human or aesthetic potential [10, 11].
- The Pisidæ 3865 , formerly called the Solymi, occupy the higher parts of the mountains.
— from The Natural History of Pliny, Volume 1 (of 6) by the Elder Pliny - It is about seventy-five feet higher than the cross on St. Peter’s.
— from The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain - He climbs up the plant, and, since he finds no pods, continues higher and higher, until he finds himself before a large golden house.
— from Filipino Popular Tales - In the counties higher up the Floss the rains had been continuous, and the completion of the harvest had been arrested.
— from The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot - I believe he was higher in rank than a private.
— from Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy - They supposed from this that he was a man of great importance in the town, and held him in higher respect than the others.
— from Heimskringla; Or, The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway by Snorri Sturluson - But add our sensations and bodily actions, and the union mounts to a much higher grade.
— from Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking by William James - Higher than "Thou shalt" stands "I will" (the heroes); higher than "I will" stands "I am" (the gods of the Greeks).
— from The Will to Power: An Attempted Transvaluation of All Values. Book III and IV by Nietzsche - They are important only for the life of the body, which is but a fixed substratum for a higher life.
— from Democracy and Education: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education by John Dewey - The conversation was not the conversation of week-days, but a thing altogether finer in point and higher in tone.
— from The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy - "Do you want to go any higher?"
— from The Rainbow by D. H. Lawrence
