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Literary notes about Inauspicious (AI summary)

The word "inauspicious" has often been employed in literature as an indicator of impending misfortune or unfavorable circumstances. For instance, Alexandre Dumas' works use it to mark a sequence of events with negative undertones, as seen when a character reflects on "events that had passed; they were numerous and inauspicious" [1] and when praising triumphant returns is contrasted with the risk of ill omens [2]. In another context, ambition itself is critiqued by suggesting that inactive days are unproductive or even unlucky, as noted in Milady’s characterization [3]. François Rabelais similarly employs the term to forewarn of an unfortunate marriage, thereby linking personal milestones with adverse fate [4]. Beyond narrative descriptions, authors like Victor Hugo and Paramahansa Yogananda use the term to set the tone of critical moments—a moment itself or a rainy morning imbued with sorrow [5, 6]. In works spanning from historical treatises by Livy and Edgar Thurston to Shakespeare’s tragic expressions of destiny [7, 8, 9, 10], "inauspicious" conveys a persistent literary motif: an inherent sense that fate may be adverse, a belief that transcends cultural and temporal boundaries in literature.
  1. He began to reflect upon the events that had passed; they were numerous and inauspicious.
    — from The three musketeers by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet
  2. If my pardon be complete, we shall return triumphant to Yanina; if the news be inauspicious, we must fly this night.’—‘But
    — from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet
  3. For an active, ambitious nature, like that of Milady, days not spent in climbing are inauspicious days.
    — from The three musketeers by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet
  4. This maketh nothing for your advantage; for he betokeneth thereby that your marriage will be inauspicious and unfortunate.
    — from Gargantua and Pantagruel by François Rabelais
  5. It was an inauspicious moment.
    — from The History of a Crime by Victor Hugo
  6. The memorable morning arrived with inauspicious rain.
    — from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda
  7. O, here Will I set up my everlasting rest; And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars From this world-wearied flesh.
    — from Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
  8. Neither could the augurs sitting at Rome divine what inauspicious circumstance had occurred to the consul in the camp.
    — from The History of Rome, Books 01 to 08 by Livy
  9. If the eleventh day happens to fall on a Tuesday or Friday, or on any inauspicious day, the period is extended to the thirteenth day.
    — from Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 7 of 7 by Edgar Thurston
  10. The person who is about to die is laid on the floor of the middle room, for it is inauspicious to die on a cot.
    — from Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 7 of 7 by Edgar Thurston

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