Literary notes about persist (AI summary)
In literature, “persist” is employed as a powerful verb that conveys not only the act of continuing but also a deep-seated determination and tenacity. Philosophical texts often use it in abstract terms, suggesting that individuals strive to persist in their very essence, as seen in discussions of human nature and being [1, 2, 3, 4]. In narrative fiction, the verb takes on more concrete dimensions—characters might persist in their beliefs or actions despite opposition, whether it be a stubborn refusal to yield [5] or an insistence on upholding a personal truth [6, 7]. This multifaceted usage captures both the unyielding endurance of ideas and the dramatic tension of human interactions, making “persist” a versatile tool in literary expression.
- Proof.—Desire is the essence of a man (Def. of the Emotions, i.), that is, the endeavour whereby a man endeavours to persist in his own being.
— from Ethics by Benedictus de Spinoza - Therefore, in so far as it can, and in so far as it is in itself, it endeavours to persist in its own being.
— from Ethics by Benedictus de Spinoza - For everyone will always endeavour to persist in his being, and to ward off pain as far as he can.
— from Ethics by Benedictus de Spinoza - The endeavour, wherewith everything endeavours to persist in its own being, is nothing else but the actual essence of the thing in question.
— from Ethics by Benedictus de Spinoza - 'Do you understand, that these estates will descend to you at my death, if I persist in a refusal?'
— from The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Ward Radcliffe - “‘You persist, then?’ “‘I swear it before the God who hears me.
— from The three musketeers by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet - "You persist, then, in supposing his sisters influence him."
— from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
