Literary notes about Clement (AI summary)
The word "clement" appears in literature both as a proper name and as an adjective conveying mercy or leniency. Authors have employed it to characterize individuals whose behavior is gentle or forgiving, as when it is used to describe a justice or noble figure in dialogue ([1], [2]). It is also evident in the names of ecclesiastical figures and institutions, such as St. Clement's Church, where its religious connotations are underscored ([3], [4], [5]). Historical works further invoke the term when referencing popes and other significant characters (e.g., Pope Clement XI in [6] and Pope Clement VII in [7]), reinforcing the association between the term and authority imbued with a certain benevolence. In narrative fiction, figures named Sir Clement often serve as courteous or magnanimous foils within the story, as seen throughout Fanny Burney’s work ([8], [9], [10]). This multifaceted usage underlines how "clement" enriches both character development and setting with its dual implications of merciful spirit and venerable tradition.
- Enter Justice CLEMENT, KNOWELL, and FORMAL.
— from Every Man in His Humor by Ben Jonson - clemente clement, merciful. cobarde coward, timid.
— from Novelas Cortas by Pedro Antonio de Alarcón - On Friday, April 5, being Good Friday, after having attended the morning service at St. Clement's Church, I walked home with Johnson.
— from Boswell's Life of Johnson by James Boswell - After coffee, we went to afternoon service in St. Clement's church.
— from Boswell's Life of Johnson by James Boswell - We were married, you know, at St. Clement's, because Wickham's lodgings were in that parish.
— from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - That learned Maronite was despatched, in the year 1715, by Pope Clement XI. to visit the monasteries of Egypt and Syria, in search of Mss.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon - The same Giulio de Medicis, having become pope under the name of Clement VII, pardoned him and called him back to Rome with his wife.
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova - “Why I did hear his name,” answered Sir Clement, “but I cannot recollect it.”
— from Evelina, Or, the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World by Fanny Burney - I was so much chagrined, that, as soon as he went, I left the room; and I shall not go down stairs till Sir Clement is gone.
— from Evelina, Or, the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World by Fanny Burney - Sir Clement regarded me with a look of wonder.
— from Evelina, Or, the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World by Fanny Burney
