Literary notes about AMBUSH (AI summary)
The term "ambush" has been employed across centuries of literature not only as a precise military stratagem but also as a rich metaphor for hidden dangers and treacherous surprises. In ancient epics like Homer's Iliad and Odyssey ([1], [2], [3], [4]), ambushes are depicted as sudden, decisive maneuvers on the battlefield, shaping the outcomes of legendary conflicts. This martial use is echoed in Sunzi's Art of War ([5], [6], [7], [8], [9], [10]), where setting an ambush is a calculated act designed to disorient and defeat the enemy. Beyond literal combat, authors have harnessed the image of an ambush to evoke suspense and the fear of unforeseen betrayal—a literary device seen in the eerie caution of Guy de Maupassant's and Kafka's narratives ([11], [12], [13], [14], [15]), as well as in the foreboding moral landscapes of Nietzsche ([16]) and others. In this way, ambush serves as a versatile symbol, embodying both the tangible perils of warfare and the intangible threats that lurk within human experience.
- A place for ambush fit they found, and stood, Cover'd with shields, beside a silver flood.
— from The Iliad by Homer - What generous Greek, obedient to thy word, Shall form an ambush, or shall lift the sword?
— from The Iliad by Homer - Here then the Achaeans placed themselves in ambush.
— from The Odyssey by Homer - 44 Early to-morrow morning I will take you to this place and will lay you in ambush.
— from The Odyssey by Homer - In this desperate plight Ts`ao waited until nightfall, when he bored a tunnel into the mountain side and laid an ambush in it.
— from The Art of War by active 6th century B.C. Sunzi - " Then, as night began to fall, he placed a strong body of archers in ambush near by, with orders to shoot directly if they saw a light.
— from The Art of War by active 6th century B.C. Sunzi - [Ts`ao Kung says a maneuver of this sort may be only a ruse to gain time for an unexpected flank attack or the laying of an ambush.]
— from The Art of War by active 6th century B.C. Sunzi - This unexpected proceeding had the intended effect; for Ssu-ma I, suspecting an ambush, actually drew off his army and retreated.
— from The Art of War by active 6th century B.C. Sunzi - Such an opponent, says Chang Yu, "must not be encountered with brute force, but may be lured into an ambush and slain.
— from The Art of War by active 6th century B.C. Sunzi - There are roads which must not be followed, ["Especially those leading through narrow defiles," says Li Ch`uan, "where an ambush is to be feared.
— from The Art of War by active 6th century B.C. Sunzi - However, we were walking rather slowly, as we were afraid of an ambush, when suddenly we heard Piedelot's well-known voice.
— from Complete Original Short Stories of Guy De Maupassant by Guy de Maupassant - He had feared a surprise, some marauders' ambush, and he smiled as he replied: “Good-day, my friend; come in.”
— from Complete Original Short Stories of Guy De Maupassant by Guy de Maupassant - "I think you do," said K., sitting stiffly upright as if waiting in ambush.
— from The Trial by Franz Kafka - I did not want to bring you here, for it would have been a mere ambush.”
— from Complete Original Short Stories of Guy De Maupassant by Guy de Maupassant - In the afternoon, he disposed his men about the town as though they were in immediate danger of an ambush.
— from Complete Original Short Stories of Guy De Maupassant by Guy de Maupassant - It was then necessary to be strong; for danger lay close at hand,—it lurked in ambush everywhere.
— from The Twilight of the Idols; or, How to Philosophize with the Hammer. The Antichrist by Nietzsche
