Literary notes about perturbation (AI summary)
In literature, the word "perturbation" is used to describe a state of inner disturbance, whether calm or agitated, that reflects emotional or intellectual disquiet. At times, it denotes a calm demeanor in the face of potential conflict, as when a character responds without agitation [1], while in other contexts it vividly portrays restlessness and mental unease, with figures pacing or hesitating under the weight of their thoughts [2][3][4]. Philosophical discourses further employ the term to signal deviations from reason or natural order, suggesting that any stir of the mind—no matter how slight—may disturb one's equilibrium [5][6][7]. Moreover, its usage has even extended into descriptions of physical phenomena, where it conveys the idea of turbulence or disruption in nature [8].
- The archdeacon replied without perturbation: “There are certain things of which I think in a certain fashion.”
— from Notre-Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo - The director got up from the table and walked to and fro in perturbation.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - In spite of her own perturbation and heartache, her hands had not been idle, and she stood now at the bedside with the quieting powder ready.
— from Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter - The young man put down the papers in great perturbation.
— from Barry Lyndon by William Makepeace Thackeray - Zeno’s definition, then, is this: “A perturbation” (which he calls a πάθος ) “is a commotion of the mind repugnant to reason, and against nature.”
— from Cicero's Tusculan Disputations by Marcus Tullius Cicero - Therefore, as constancy proceeds from knowledge, so does perturbation from error.
— from Cicero's Tusculan Disputations by Marcus Tullius Cicero - For we must necessarily understand by “sound” those whose minds are under no perturbation from any motion as if it were a disease.
— from Cicero's Tusculan Disputations by Marcus Tullius Cicero - From the reports of eyewitnesses it transpires that the seismic waves were accompanied by a violent atmospheric perturbation of cyclonic character.
— from Ulysses by James Joyce
