Literary notes about pilot (AI summary)
In literature, the word "pilot" assumes multiple layers of meaning that enrich both the literal and the symbolic narratives. Often, it denotes the individual at the helm of a vessel, steering through physical dangers and navigating uncharted waters, as in accounts of daring sea voyages [1], [2], [3]. At the same time, the pilot can represent personal ambition or moral guidance, embodying hope and independent authority when characters declare their intent to master fate [4], [5]. Moreover, classical and allegorical texts use the pilot as a metaphor for wisdom and direction, an indispensable guide through life's tumultuous journeys [6], [7]. This versatility has allowed writers from various epochs—from ancient myth-makers to modern storytellers—to employ the term "pilot" both as a concrete figure and as a symbol of insightful leadership and perseverance [8], [9].
- When the captain saw this he secured the pilot whom he had taken with him, and ordered the bombards to fire upon the boats.
— from A Journal of the First Voyage of Vasco da Gama 1497-1499 - The moment that the boat was under way in the river, she was under the sole and unquestioned control of the pilot.
— from Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain - The pilot again changed the course of the boat, which rapidly approached the island, and was soon within fifty paces of it.
— from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet - I said I never would come home again till I was a pilot and could come in glory.
— from Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain - The reason is plain: a pilot, in those days, was the only unfettered and entirely independent human being that lived in the earth.
— from Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain - Now in vessels which are in a state of mutiny and by sailors who are mutineers, how will the true pilot be regarded?
— from The Republic of Plato by Plato - And thou, whose guiding hand directs our way, Pilot, attentive listen and obey!
— from The Odyssey by Homer - Each had charge of one of the vessels; but the first in command, as chief pilot, was Anton de Alaminos.
— from The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo, Vol 1 (of 2) by Bernal Díaz del Castillo - oh, she To me myself, for some three careless moons, The summer pilot of an empty heart Unto the shores of nothing!
— from The Early Poems of Alfred Lord Tennyson by Baron Alfred Tennyson Tennyson