Literary notes about patterns (AI summary)
In literature, the word “patterns” is a versatile term that extends from describing tangible decorative designs to representing abstract, recurring motifs in life and behavior. Authors use it to depict physical ornamentation, as seen in the detailed descriptions of carpets and tapestries from ancient Alexandria [1] or the intricate mosaic and floral designs on pottery and textiles [2][3]. At the same time, “patterns” is employed metaphorically to capture habitual or societal regularities—such as the distinctive behaviors that define human character [4][5][6] or even the repetitive structures found in propaganda [7]. This dual usage not only underscores the beauty and order of physical designs—from embroidered quilts [8][9] to geometric medallions—but also reflects the inherent order and symmetry observed in nature and human thought, making “patterns” a richly evocative term in literary expression.
- Plautus speaks of such patterns in carpets, the produce of Alexandria—" Alexandrina belluata conchyliata tapetia ."
— from The Travels of Marco Polo — Volume 1 by Marco Polo and da Pisa Rusticiano - Rosettes, diaper patterns, spirals, and checkers are to be met with in them; but many of these can be traced to symbolic origins.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson - Mosaic patterns form the groundwork of the medallions, and a border of scrolls and foliage incloses the whole design.
— from English Villages by P. H. Ditchfield - There is no reason that all human existences should be constructed on some one, or some small number of patterns.
— from On Liberty by John Stuart Mill - The two most elementary behavior patterns are the tendency to approach and the tendency to withdraw.
— from Introduction to the Science of Sociology by E. W. Burgess and Robert Ezra Park - Every individual comes into the world in possession of certain characteristic and relatively fixed behavior patterns which we call instincts.
— from Introduction to the Science of Sociology by E. W. Burgess and Robert Ezra Park - Psychological goals are attained only by sustained, consistent patterns of propaganda; they have to be plain, repetitive, and insistent.
— from Psychological Warfare by Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger - [Pg 24] Not only large substantial things like furniture, but curtains and the patterns of stuffs and the fringes of quilts and cushions.
— from Bliss, and other stories by Katherine Mansfield - The quilt was of pink satin, and it was quilted in patterns.
— from Short Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
