Literary notes about ASSEMBLY (AI summary)
The word "assembly" is versatile in literature, often serving as a symbol of authority, collective deliberation, or even mythic convergence. In historical narratives, it designates formal councils or senates where significant political decisions are made, as seen when Gibbon describes consuls convoking an assembly in the Capitol [1] or when Polybius recounts a federal army raised by the order of the assembly [2]. In dramatic and poetic works, "assembly" becomes the stage for intense personal and political interactions, such as in Shakespeare’s address to Caesar’s friends [3] or in epic gatherings recounted in ancient texts [4, 5]. This multiplicity of uses highlights the assembly’s role not only as a literal meeting of minds or leaders but also as a metaphor for collective identity and the exercise of power.
- 28 [See The Capitol: When the throne was vacant by the murder of Caligula, the consuls convoked that assembly in the Capitol.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon - The Strategus, on the order of the assembly, raised the federal army ( 4 , 7 ).
— from The Histories of Polybius, Vol. 1 (of 2) by Polybius - If there be any in this assembly, any dear friend of Caesar’s, to him I say that Brutus’ love to Caesar was no less than his.
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare - Vaisampayana continued,—“The messenger coming back to the assembly told all present the words of Draupadi.
— from The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 1 - Full in a vast assembly's view Thy hero Ráma broke in two The gem of bows, of monstrous size, That came a treasure from the skies.
— from The Rámáyan of Válmíki, translated into English verse by Valmiki
