Literary notes about CULT (AI summary)
The word "cult" appears in literature with a broad range of meanings, from concrete ritualistic practices to abstract systems of belief and admiration. In some texts it denotes formal religious rites or initiatory practices, as in the invocation of ancient groups like the cult of Mithras [1] or discussions of tribal initiations [2]. In other writings the term is extended metaphorically—used to critique or celebrate systematic practices, whether highlighting an excessive, negative austerity [3] or an enduring set of communal values and ideals [4]. Authors even employ "cult" to capture the fervor surrounding political or moral dedications, thereby enriching its resonance as a term that spans both tangible rituals and the symbolic veneration of ideals [5] [6].
- He refers to his initiation into the cult of Mithras.
— from The Works of the Emperor Julian, Vol. 1 by Emperor of Rome Julian - Before the initiation, he lived with the women; he was excluded from the cult.
— from The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life by Émile Durkheim - Thus a systematic asceticism is born which is consequently nothing more than a hypertrophy of the negative cult.
— from The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life by Émile Durkheim - We have said that there is something eternal in religion: it is the cult and the faith.
— from The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life by Émile Durkheim - We are supposed to wear faded roses in our button-holes when we meet, and to have a sort of cult for Domitian.
— from Intentions by Oscar Wilde - The cult of Alfred was a popular cult, from the darkness of the ninth century to the deepening twilight of the twentieth.
— from The Ballad of the White Horse by G. K. Chesterton
