Literary notes about manna (AI summary)
In literature, manna functions as a potent symbol of both divine nourishment and metaphorical sustenance. In sacred texts, it is depicted as the miraculous food provided by God to the Israelites in the wilderness ([1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6]), which has lent the term a long-standing association with heavenly grace and providence. At the same time, writers have expanded its meaning into the realms of metaphor and allegory. For instance, in some works manna represents a form of unexpected, soul-satisfying relief—akin to a nourishing, almost transcendent good—in the midst of life's trials ([7], [8]). Philosophers like John Locke employ the term to explore abstract notions such as the interplay between physical sensory experiences and inner mental states ([9], [10]). Across numerous texts, manna thereby carries the weight of both literal provision and symbolic enrichment, marking it as a multifaceted literary device.
- And fed thee in the wilderness with manna which thy fathers knew not.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them the bread of heaven.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white, and the taste thereof like to flour with honey.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - Exodus Chapter 16 The people murmur for want of meat: God giveth them quails and manna.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - Your fathers did eat manna in the desert: and are dead.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - Our fathers did eat manna in the desert, as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - Do you feel as disgruntled now as when you started out, Anne?” “Not I. Those apples have been as manna to a hungry soul.
— from Anne of the Island by L. M. Montgomery - “Ye may as well look for manna-food as good bread in Casterbridge just now,” she said, after directing them.
— from The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy - But light, heat, whiteness, or coldness, are no more really in them than sickness or pain is in manna.
— from An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, Volume 1 by John Locke - Flame is denominated hot and light; snow, white and cold; and manna, white and sweet, from the ideas they produce in us.
— from An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, Volume 1 by John Locke