Literary notes about Cabal (AI summary)
Writers frequently use "cabal" to evoke a sense of secretive conspiracy and covert manipulation in political and social contexts. In many works, it denotes a small, exclusive group devoted to pursuing hidden agendas or engaging in intrigues that subvert established power, as illustrated in discussions of political maneuverings and ministerial plots [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. The term is often employed to highlight the nefarious undercurrents behind public actions—ranging from the mysterious gatherings of influential figures [6, 7] to satirical or even allegorical depictions of clandestine power struggles [8, 9]. This layered usage enriches narratives, contributing an air of mystique and suspicion that questions the legitimacy of overt authority and social order [10, 11].
- Every mere council of appointment, however constituted, will be a conclave, in which cabal and intrigue will have their full scope.
— from The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton and John Jay and James Madison - Nothing was more to be desired than that every practicable obstacle should be opposed to cabal, intrigue, and corruption.
— from The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton and John Jay and James Madison - And while an unbounded field for cabal and intrigue lies open, all idea of responsibility is lost.
— from The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton and John Jay and James Madison - Cicero refused to enter, on similar conditions, the cabal later known as the "First Triumvirate."
— from Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 9 - [36] Cabal : a body of men united for some sinister purpose.
— from Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Regions of the World by Jonathan Swift - A third officer in this "cabal" was Thomas Mifflin.
— from The True George Washington [10th Ed.] by Paul Leicester Ford - a cabal was formed round the bier of his father.
— from Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, v. 1 of 3 by James Tod - The truth is that, if there was a cabal, it was led by Carlotta herself against poor Christine, who had no suspicion of it.
— from The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux - "What! have you no monks who teach, who dispute, who govern, who cabal, and who burn people that are not of their opinion?"
— from Candide by Voltaire - The name of my wife was embroidered within, upon the lining, and it thus became a serviceable link to the hellish cabal against her.
— from Narrative and Miscellaneous Papers by Thomas De Quincey - Then there are the [133] Cabal numbers we play together, and Marzano's cobbler's ones, and so on.
— from The Land of Cockayne: A Novel by Matilde Serao
