Literary notes about Assault (AI summary)
In literature, "assault" is used to evoke both the brutal immediacy of physical conflict and, at times, the metaphorical impact of a forceful attack. Authors deploy the term to vividly depict military engagements and sieges, as in the description of a palace storming ([1]) or the rapid advance on strategic positions ([2], [3]). At the same time, "assault" appears in legal or moral contexts, delineating both physical violence and symbolic infringements—as when it is recounted in judicial proceedings ([4], [5]) or to illustrate a vehement onslaught of words ([6], [7]). This array of uses highlights how the word captures a spectrum of aggressive encounters, imbuing narratives with tension and urgency.
- This Judas, having gotten together a multitude of men of a profligate character about Sepphoris in Galilee, made an assault upon the palace
— from Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus - Sherman at once formed his troops for assault on Missionary Ridge.
— from Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant, Complete by Ulysses S. Grant - It was for this reason that I had ordered the assault to take place at once, as soon as I had received the news of the capture of Five Forks.
— from Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant, Complete by Ulysses S. Grant - Then he stood before the sergeant's desk and gave his name and address, and saw a charge of assault and battery entered against him.
— from The Jungle by Upton Sinclair - Assault, riot, theft, what do you call these?’ ‘A lie!’ cried a voice, as the door was dashed open, and Nicholas came into the room.
— from Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens - His conscience inured to every assault of destiny, might have appeared to be forever impregnable.
— from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo - This, of course, is not a reproach to the discipline of experimental psychology, or an assault upon the value of its researches.
— from Criminal Psychology: A Manual for Judges, Practitioners, and Students by Hans Gross
