Literary notes about Pervert (AI summary)
In literature, the term "pervert" is employed to signify the distortion or corrupting influence on something that is originally pure or intended, whether that be language, truth, religious doctrine, or moral judgment. Authors use it to describe the act of misapplying principles and altering meanings—from the twisting of universally accepted ideas, as noted when discussing the English language being reshaped [1], to the corruption of religious texts and divine messages [2][3][4]. It also appears in discussions about human conduct and nature, reflecting on how passions or societal instincts might be marred or misdirected [5][6][7]. Additionally, this word captures the deliberate or even passive transformation of concepts into forms far removed from their original purpose, whether in the realms of art, politics, or everyday life [8][9]. Thus, the varied use of "pervert" in literary texts serves both as a critique and a warning against the transformation of noble ideas into distorted reflections of themselves.
- —Has any man a right to pervert the English language, by fixing new meanings to words, entirely different from and contrary to those in common use?
— from Fables of Infidelity and Facts of FaithBeing an Examination of the Evidences of Infidelity by Robert Patterson - But because they attach more importance to charity than to faith in Christ they dishonor Him and pervert His Word.
— from Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians by Martin Luther - So it is in Gnosticism and Manicheism that we find evidence of the first attempts to pervert Christianity.
— from Secret societies and subversive movements by Nesta Helen Webster - Which is not another: only there are some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - This is not the same thing as to submit to the guidance of ideas clearly thought out: and yet these are rules of life which most people pervert.
— from The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer; Counsels and Maxims by Arthur Schopenhauer - There is naught so perfect and so wise, but human passions will mar and pervert it.
— from Aurelian; or, Rome in the Third Century by William Ware - Is it imagined that all this does not pervert the whole manner of existence of the man, both as an individual and as a social being?
— from The Subjection of Women by John Stuart Mill - The girls are still polite about the whole thing and protectively pervert the original spelling of "Rabbit" to "Rarebit" in their culinary guides.
— from The Complete Book of Cheese by Bob Brown - If I mistake not, a strong effort will be made to pervert the public mind of England, and to do away the impression which the book has left.
— from Life of Harriet Beecher Stowe Compiled From Her Letters and Journals by Her Son Charles Edward Stowe by Harriet Beecher Stowe
