Literary notes about sacrilege (AI summary)
In literature, "sacrilege" is employed as a powerful term to denote the violation or profanation of that which is deemed sacred, whether in a religious, moral, or cultural sense. Writers use it to vividly portray acts that desecrate established norms or hallowed objects—ranging from overt transgressions, such as defiling holy sanctuaries ([1], [2]), to more metaphorical breaches of human dignity or tradition ([3], [4]). The term is equally at home in historical narratives where it marks egregious political or military misconduct ([5], [6]), as well as in philosophical discourses that debate the nature of the sacred and its protection ([7], [8]). It also appears in personal or emotional contexts, emphasizing the profound shock and disapproval that accompany an act seen as irreverent ([9], [10]). Across these varied contexts, "sacrilege" functions as both a moral indictment and a dramatic device, reflecting the enduring human preoccupation with the separation between the sacred and the profane ([11], [12]).
- Apollo, who witnessed the sacrilege, came down to defend his sanctuary, and a violent struggle ensued.
— from Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome by E. M. Berens - ] Note 1339 ( return ) [ i.e. things which it would be sacrilege to disturb, such as tombs.
— from Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, and Homerica by Hesiod - you, another sacrilege against human dignity, and nothing more.
— from The Duel and Other Stories by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - To be driven by lovers—A king might envy us, and if we part them it’s more like sacrilege than anything I know.”
— from A Room with a View by E. M. Forster - He afterwards supported the expense of the civil wars, and of his triumphs and public spectacles, by the most flagrant rapine and sacrilege.
— from The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Complete by Suetonius - “If all Russians are in the least like you, it is sacrilege to fight such a nation,” he said to Pierre.
— from War and Peace by graf Leo Tolstoy - We have treated of sacrilege, and of conspiracy, and of treason.
— from Laws by Plato - At the beginning of Book x, all acts of violence, including sacrilege, are summed up in a single law.
— from Laws by Plato - It appeared to me sacrilege so soon to leave the repose, akin to death, of the house of mourning and to rush into the thick of life.
— from Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - They had seen sacrilege unspeakable, and it behoved them to get away before the Gods and devils of the hills took vengeance.
— from Kim by Rudyard Kipling - He seemed to him to be conducting himself in a monstrous fashion, to be robbing him in a sort, and almost committing sacrilege.
— from Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert - But you are not free enough yet to commit a sacrilege.
— from A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce