Literary notes about Atrophy (AI summary)
In literature, the word "atrophy" often serves a dual purpose—denoting a literal decline in physical tissues as well as symbolizing a broader decay in intellectual, emotional, or societal vitality. Some writers employ the term to describe the degeneration of organs and nerves, illustrating processes like the loss of nerve function or muscle deterioration ([1], [2], [3]), while others extend its use metaphorically to capture the erosion of moral fiber and the diminution of cultural or intellectual vibrancy ([4], [5], [6], [7]). Such usage enriches a narrative by linking the decline in physical form with that of spirit or society, thereby imbuing the text with layers of meaning that reflect both biological and existential decay ([8], [9]).
- In senile degeneration the nerve-cells are surrounded by neuronophags which absorb their contents and bring about more or less complete atrophy.
— from The Prolongation of Life: Optimistic Studies by Elie Metchnikoff - Experiments were made on animals and the results seemed to prove that castration in them constantly produced prostatic atrophy.
— from Psychotherapy Including the History of the Use of Mental Influence, Directly and Indirectly, in Healing and the Principles for the Application of Energies Derived from the Mind to the Treatment of Disease by James J. (James Joseph) Walsh - When a large effusion takes place, the prolonged pressure on the nerve may result in optic atrophy and permanent blindness.
— from Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities—Head—Neck. Sixth Edition. by Alexis Thomson - Social atrophy drains off the vital juices of the nation."
— from English Interference with Irish Industries by J. G. Swift (John Gordon Swift) MacNeill - But a rich family without active interests almost always shows atrophy of mind.
— from Janus in Modern Life by W. M. Flinders (William Matthew Flinders) Petrie - To teach history solely from a single book, even if this be among the best, is to produce an atrophy of the historical interest.
— from Outlines of Educational Doctrine by Johann Friedrich Herbart - Was it politics that had caused this atrophy of the moral senses by disuse?
— from Democracy, an American novel by Henry Adams - Artistic atrophy is benumbing us, we are losing our finer feeling for beauty, the rose is going back to the briar.
— from Confessions of a Young Man by George Moore - For the Scepticism, as I said, is not intellectual only; it is moral also; a chronic atrophy and disease of the whole soul.
— from On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History by Thomas Carlyle
