Literary notes about mediate (AI summary)
The word "mediate" has been employed in literature with a remarkable breadth of meaning. In some instances, authors invoke it in a contemplative or philosophical sense—for example, urging one to "mediate upon these (divine) things" [1] or discussing the derivation of truth as a mediate process [2]. In other cases, the term takes on a more practical role, signifying the act of intervening to reconcile disputes, as seen in examples where characters negotiate peace or resolve conflicts between rivals [3], [4], [5], [6], and [7]. Furthermore, the word sometimes crosses into abstract terrain, describing the indirect effects or intermediary forces at work in nature, sound propagation, or even cosmic relationships, as noted by thinkers who examine mediation between gods and men or the expulsion of evils [8], [9], [10], [11]. This variety illustrates how "mediate" operates on multiple levels—both as an invitation to reflection and as a descriptor of active intercession—in literary works spanning drama, philosophy, and political narrative.
- "Mediate upon these (divine) things; give thyself wholly to them."
— from The World's Sixteen Crucified Saviors; Or, Christianity Before Christ by Kersey Graves - THESIS II All truth is either mediate, that is, derived from some other truth or truths; or immediate and original.
— from Biographia Literaria by Samuel Taylor Coleridge - I desire to mediate in the matter of your difference with the Brothers Platonov.
— from Dead Souls by Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol - Earl Bruse came up to his two brothers, and endeavoured to mediate between them, and a peace was concluded and confirmed by oath.
— from Heimskringla; Or, The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway by Snorri Sturluson - Nay, rather, Christians, let me go to Turkey, In person there to mediate 209 your peace: To keep me here will naught advantage you.
— from The Jew of Malta by Christopher Marlowe - When Essex’s fortunes declined, and the Earl fell into disgrace, Bacon endeavored to mediate between the Queen and her favorite.
— from Bacon's Essays, and Wisdom of the Ancients by Francis Bacon - Then King Inge came a second time, and pacified them; and both agreed that he should mediate between them.
— from Heimskringla; Or, The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway by Snorri Sturluson - As to those five things which Apuleius included in his definition of demons, he did not show, as he promised, that the demons are mediate.
— from The City of God, Volume I by Bishop of Hippo Saint Augustine - There are many instances of this singular propagation of sound which are not perceptible in its less mediate positions.
— from A Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne - The former may be called the direct or immediate expulsion of evils; the latter the indirect or mediate expulsion, or the expulsion by scapegoat.
— from The Golden Bough: A Study of Magic and Religion by James George Frazer - How the demons can mediate between gods and men if they have nothing in common with both, being neither blessed like the gods, nor miserable like men.
— from The City of God, Volume I by Bishop of Hippo Saint Augustine