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Literary notes about lying (AI summary)

The word "lying" in literature exhibits remarkable versatility, functioning both as a descriptor of physical position and as a metaphor for deception. In many passages, it straightforwardly describes a state of rest or placement—characters and objects are vividly depicted as lying on sofas, floors, or even across vast landscapes, as seen when Chekhov portrays a man lying on a sofa [1] or Strabo notes a city lying all around a hill [2]. However, authors also employ "lying" to evoke moral and epistemological ambiguity. For instance, it appears in contexts that criticize deceit and falsehood, such as the denunciation of "lying inventions" [3] or the contemplation of the injurious nature of lying [4]. This dual usage reveals the word's capacity to navigate between literal description and abstract commentary, reflecting both the physical realities and the complex inner lives of its subjects.
  1. XVI One day Mihail Averyanitch came after dinner when Andrey Yefimitch was lying on the sofa.
    — from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov
  2. From the summit may be seen the whole city lying all around and beneath it.
    — from The Geography of Strabo, Volume 3 (of 3) by Strabo
  3. Let them go to the deuce with their vile constructions and their lying inventions!’
    — from The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë
  4. I do myself a greater injury in lying than I do him of whom I tell a lie.
    — from Essays of Michel de Montaigne — Complete by Michel de Montaigne

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