Literary notes about cohort (AI summary)
Literary usage of “cohort” spans both the literal and the metaphorical. In historical narratives, it often designates a well-defined military unit—a subdivision of a legion—as seen in accounts where cohorts are organized with their own centurions and distinct roles in battle [1, 2, 3]. At the same time, the term is employed more abstractly to indicate a group united by a common characteristic or purpose, whether in the analysis of social demographics [4] or when invoking a mass of intangible forces, such as a horde of emotions or doctrines [5, 6]. This dual application—from concrete formations in ancient warfare to figurative collectives in poetic prose—demonstrates the word’s versatility and enduring appeal in literature.
- The cohorts chose each their centurions: two senators were placed at the head of each cohort.
— from The History of Rome, Books 01 to 08 by Livy - Then again, on the following day, had you any assistance any where? or did you and your cohort by your own bravery make your way into your camp?
— from The History of Rome, Books 01 to 08 by Livy - A cohort that was about to leave the camp in marching order halted, and began to throw away its impedimenta, when Cæsar himself rode up to them.
— from A Friend of Cæsar: A Tale of the Fall of the Roman Republic. Time, 50-47 B.C. by William Stearns Davis - For example, to estimate the percent of persons age 31 in 2001 who had ever gone to prison, the calculations were applied to the 1970 birth cohort.
— from Prevalence of Imprisonment in the U.S. Population, 1974-2001 by Thomas P. Bonczar - There are moments when hideous surmises assail us like a cohort of furies, and violently force the partitions of our brains.
— from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo - Both come charging down the stream of time each with its cohort of doctrines behind it, borne forward with irresistible momentum.
— from Logic, Inductive and Deductive by William Minto