Literary notes about pillar (AI summary)
In literature, the word "pillar" frequently carries both literal and symbolic weight. It often denotes a solid, stabilizing element in physical spaces—a letter vanishing into the darkness of a pillar-box [1] or the imposing stone supports of ancient monuments [2]—while also evoking ideas of moral fortitude and structural integrity, as when moral character is described as a "pillar of all moral rectitude" [3]. Religious and mythic narratives further harness the image, with pillars of cloud and fire guiding and protecting the faithful [4][5][6]. Thus, "pillar" serves as a versatile metaphor bridging tangible architecture and intangible strength.
- he praised me when my letter to Natasha disappeared into the darkness of the pillar-box.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - The first pillar, I mean that which faced the temple gate, was of azure, sky-coloured sapphire.
— from Gargantua and Pantagruel by François Rabelais - It holds society together; it is the basis of all trust and confidence; it is the pillar of all moral rectitude.
— from My Bondage and My Freedom by Frederick Douglass - 14.27, were dead when this pillar was erected: unless we suppose he raised this pillar before they were born. 18:19.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - There never failed the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, before the people.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - And when he was gone into the tabernacle of the covenant, the pillar of the cloud came down, and stood at the door, and he spoke with Moses.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete
