Literary notes about ponder (AI summary)
In literature, "ponder" is often employed to evoke a deep, reflective state of mind, inviting characters—and by extension, readers—to deliberate on life’s complexities. It serves both as an invitation to consider moral or spiritual paths, as seen when a writer calls on one to “ponder the path of thy feet” [1] or “ponder my counsel” [2], and as a marker of internal decision-making, where a character halts action to mull over critical choices [3, 4]. The term also establishes a tone of measured introspection in narratives that explore themes of love, fate, or the burdens of history [5, 6], seamlessly bridging moments of personal reverie with broader philosophical inquiry [7, 8].
- Ponder the path of thy feet and let all thy ways be established.
— from Pushing to the Front by Orison Swett Marden - Love prompts my speech; no longer grieve; Ponder my counsel, and believe.
— from The Rámáyan of Válmíki, translated into English verse by Valmiki - "I'll ponder on 't a spell, and make up my mind," was all he said, and never renewed the subject again.
— from Work: A Story of Experience by Louisa May Alcott - " Thus did he stand and ponder, but Achilles came up to him as it were Mars himself, plumed lord of battle.
— from The Iliad by Homer - When I answer now, I drop a grave thought, break from solitude; Yet still my heart goes to thee—ponder how— Not as to a single good, but all my good!
— from Sonnets from the Portuguese by Elizabeth Barrett Browning - In any event, in the state of destitution into which we had fallen, we were not in a mood to ponder too scrupulously.
— from A Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne - Consequently, the mind cannot ponder upon the beauty of Nature without finding itself at the same time interested therein.
— from Kant's Critique of Judgement by Immanuel Kant - Ponder and deliberate before you make a move.
— from The Art of War by active 6th century B.C. Sunzi
