Literary notes about Ignominious (AI summary)
In literature, ignominious frequently conveys a state of profound disgrace or shame, whether through the description of humiliating punishments or the public exposure of moral failure. The term underscores dramatic reversals of fortune—as seen in the harsh sentencing and defeat of a leader [1, 2, 3]—and highlights the bitter outcome of contentious struggles [4, 5, 6]. Authors use ignominious to intensify the narrative by juxtaposing lofty ideals against ignoble actions, such as in the portrayal of a character's ignominious fate on a tombstone [7] or during the defensive retreat of a beleaguered individual [8, 9]. Moreover, the word conveys both physical and moral deterioration in historical and religious contexts, where it captures the ignominious punishments meted out in epic conflicts or divine retribution [10, 11, 12]. Overall, ignominious serves as a powerful literary tool to emphasize the degradation of honor and the ignominy that accompanies scandal and defeat.
- It is with the utmost reluctance that I execute such a cruel and ignominious sentence."
— from The Arabian Nights Entertainments - Complete - In all his wars, he never received any signal or ignominious defeat, except twice in Germany, under his lieutenants Lollius and Varus.
— from The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Complete by Suetonius - When the armies came in right of each other, the soldiers of Gallus compared the ignominious conduct of their sovereign with the glory of his rival.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon - Yet the Vandals still prefer an ignominious repose, at the expense of their wives and children, their wealth and liberty.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon - During sixty years, no emperor appeared in Italy, and the name was remembered only by the ignominious sale of the last relics of sovereignty.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon - Arise, O Country; or be trodden down to ignominious ruin!
— from The French Revolution: A History by Thomas Carlyle - “Thus she will be a living sermon against sin, until the ignominious letter be engraved upon her tombstone.
— from The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne - “Sometimes the relations hold out, or the man, for want of one of the three qualifications mentioned above, has to beat an ignominious retreat.
— from Malay Magic by Walter William Skeat - He is about to beat an ignominious retreat.
— from The Sea-Gull by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - Isaias Chapter 20 The ignominious captivity of the Egyptians, and the Ethiopians. 20:1.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - Christ for her sake will endure ignominious afflictions.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - Christ for her sake will endure ignominious afflictions. 50:1.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete
