Literary notes about decimation (AI summary)
In literature, decimation is deployed in a variety of settings to convey both literal and figurative devastation. Some texts describe it as a strict military practice—such as the grim order to execute every tenth man as a form of punishment [1, 2]—while others employ the term to signify the gradual erosion of a population or institution, be it through the ravages of disease, warfare, or neglect [3, 4, 5]. Additionally, writers often extend its meaning to highlight systematic attrition, emphasizing how continual, minor losses accumulate into a significant decline, whether among armed forces or even in natural cycles in the animal kingdom [6, 7]. This multiplicity of uses underscores decimation’s powerful role in evoking both the sudden and the cumulative impacts of destruction.
- Then, turning to his officers, he commanded that every tenth person in the town should be slain, and they at once gave orders for the decimation.
— from The Cyr Readers: Book 8Arranged by grades by Ellen M. Cyr - In fine, a more merciful course was determined upon; only decimation of the prisoners—every tenth man to suffer death.
— from The Free Lances: A Romance of the Mexican Valley by Mayne Reid - We may here observe on a small scale what has taken place all over the archipelago in the degeneration and decimation of the aborigines.
— from Two Years with the Natives in the Western Pacific by Felix Speiser - The decimation of the human race by wars and plagues and famines has always been traceable to human error.
— from The Secret Power by Marie Corelli - Even though the task were far more difficult than it is, the race must perform it or pay an immense price in hardship, suffering and decimation.
— from The Next Step: A Plan for Economic World Federation by Scott Nearing - This decrease amounted to a veritable decimation, requiring the frequent importation of recruits to keep the ranks full.
— from American Negro SlaveryA Survey of the Supply, Employment and Control of Negro Labor as Determined by the Plantation Regime by Ulrich Bonnell Phillips - It is only because of the large families that they rear, that they are able to withstand this yearly decimation of their ranks.
— from The Bird Book Illustrating in natural colors more than seven hundred North American birds; also several hundred photographs of their nests and eggs. by Chester A. (Chester Albert) Reed
