Literary notes about avert (AI summary)
The term "avert" in literature is frequently employed to convey the act of preventing an undesirable outcome, whether it be misfortune, doom, or suspicion. Its usage spans diverse scenarios, from the urgent plea to avert misfortune in personal relationships [1] and political or military disaster [2], [3], to more abstract notions where even celestial bodies or divinities are depicted as striving to avert their destined roles [4], [5]. Characters are often portrayed taking desperate measures to avert suspicion or calamity [6], [7], underscoring a universal human desire to forestall inevitable fate. This subtle yet potent word also finds its place in mystical contexts, as it is invoked to avert both literal and symbolic evils [8], [9], thus enriching the narrative with themes of control, sacrifice, and the battle against inevitability.
- What can we do to avert the misfortune that threatens us?
— from Juliette Drouet's Love-Letters to Victor Hugo by Juliette Drouet and Louis Guimbaud - Then no man, however wise, will be able to avert the consequences that must ensue.
— from The Art of War by active 6th century B.C. Sunzi - He is not a cruel tyrant delighting in battle and the slaying of enemies: he is the god who can avert war and protect the people from its horrors .
— from Myths and Legends of China by E. T. C. Werner - With the morrow's new-born sun, All the slaughter that was done Struck the eye with huge dismay, And almost made the sun avert his rising ray.
— from The Fables of La Fontaine by Jean de La Fontaine - It seemed to all as though a thunderbolt had fallen from the Alps, a bolt that no action could avert, no words describe.
— from The Works of the Emperor Julian, Vol. 1 by Emperor of Rome Julian - He took a desperate step, trusting in his assumed character to avert suspicion.
— from The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie - I thought that if there was any danger my first care was to avert suspicion.
— from Dracula's Guest by Bram Stoker - The indecent figures carved on temple cars, are intended to avert the evil eye.
— from Omens and Superstitions of Southern India by Edgar Thurston - It was a sacrificial feast to avert evil from the chief.”
— from The Golden Bough: A Study of Magic and Religion by James George Frazer
