Literary notes about rectitude (AI summary)
Literary texts employ rectitude as a vivid emblem of moral steadfastness and honorable conduct. Writers use it to denote an unwavering adherence to ethical principles, whether by contrasting it with fleeting expediency [1][2] or portraying it as a natural counterpart to valor and justice in personal or societal matters [3][4]. Philosophers and novelists alike elucidate the virtue through varied imagery—from the symbolic plumb that represents flawless conduct [5][6] to characters whose actions, driven by a sense of irrefutable moral purpose, become a defining trait [7][8]. This multifaceted use reflects rectitude’s central role in illustrating not only an idealized code of behavior but also the inherent conflicts that arise when moral consistency confronts practical necessity.
- And yet he was working for what he thought was expediency; but it was not—not at all, for it clashed with moral rectitude.
— from De Officiis by Marcus Tullius Cicero - People overturn the fundamental principles established by nature, when they divorce expediency from moral rectitude.
— from De Officiis by Marcus Tullius Cicero - I shall begin with RECTITUDE OR JUSTICE, the most cogent precept in the code of the samurai.
— from Bushido, the Soul of Japan by Inazo Nitobe - Rectitude is a twin brother to Valor, another martial virtue.
— from Bushido, the Soul of Japan by Inazo Nitobe - Thus we say that the plumb is a symbol of rectitude of conduct.
— from The symbolism of Freemasonry : by Albert Gallatin Mackey - It is in the same way that in Masonry the plumb represents rectitude, the level, human equality, and the trowel, concord or harmony.
— from The symbolism of Freemasonry : by Albert Gallatin Mackey - Stubberd, with a suppressed gaze of victorious rectitude at the old woman, continued: “Was standing myself.
— from The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy - Javert, with his powerful rectitude of instinct, went straight to the bridge of Austerlitz.
— from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
