Literary notes about Inflammatory (AI summary)
Throughout literature, the word "inflammatory" has been employed in varying contexts to evoke both physical and metaphorical intensity. For instance, in Vanity Fair [1], it is used to describe severe symptoms of fever that force a character to relocate, thereby emphasizing the physical effects of disease and decay. In contrast, Plato's Timaeus [2] attributes the term to bodies that, due to their "lightness," ascend to the head and disrupt everything in their path—a usage that broadens the meaning, hinting at a disruptive, almost volatile, force in the natural world. These examples demonstrate the term's versatility, as it shifts from a literal description of medical affliction to a more figurative depiction of dynamic, penetrating influence.
- Fever and inflammatory symptoms set in, and Mrs. Bute was forced to leave Sussex for Hampshire.
— from Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray - Inflammatory bodies, which by their lightness are carried up into the head, cutting all that comes in their way, are termed pungent.
— from Timaeus by Plato