Literary notes about arrogance (AI summary)
In literature, "arrogance" is used as a multifaceted term that conveys excessive pride and a dangerous lack of humility. It ranges from denoting the vanity of nations and the hubris of individuals, as seen when historical powers are critiqued for their impudence [1], [2], to exposing personal failings that lead characters to their downfall or isolation [3], [4]. The word often carries moral weight, serving as a pointed commentary on both social and ethical shortcomings; it is employed to contrast genuine self-confidence with a blinding conceit that alienates and corrupts [5], [6]. In doing so, authors use "arrogance" not only as a descriptor of character but as a thematic tool that underscores the tension between pride and humility throughout their narratives [7], [8].
- 16 "Who is ignorant," says the monk of Clairvaux, "of the vanity and arrogance of the Romans?
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon - 33 4 the romans, then, expecting in their extreme arrogance that they should capture them all at the first blow, succumbed to a terrible disaster.
— from Dio's Rome, Volume 1 by Cassius Dio Cocceianus - It was this arrogance of his that made me angry.
— from The Hungry Stones, and Other Stories by Rabindranath Tagore - His tone of assumed arrogance and helpless defiance was gone.
— from Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The arrogance of man: when he sees no purpose, he denies that there can be one!
— from The Will to Power: An Attempted Transvaluation of All Values. Book III and IV by Nietzsche - What impudence men have, what arrogance!"
— from The Rainbow by D. H. Lawrence - While yet he spoke, Leocritus rejoined: "O pride of words, and arrogance of mind!
— from The Odyssey by Homer - Be careful that while you have sufficient self-respect to make your manner easy, it does not become arrogance and so engender insolence.
— from The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness by Florence Hartley
