Literary notes about demerit (AI summary)
In literature the term demerit is used as a measure of moral failing or negative judgment, often juxtaposed with merit to illuminate the balance of good and evil in human actions. Writers deploy the word to explore themes of retribution and redemption—for instance, as a metaphor for cosmic karma that shapes one’s fate [1, 2, 3]—while it also figures in more pragmatic settings, such as the assignment of demerit marks to highlight lapses in behavior [4, 5, 6, 7]. Moreover, demerit frequently appears as a tool to advance character development and moral inquiry, portraying how actions carry intrinsic assessments of worth that determine both personal and societal outcomes [8, 9, 10].
- It is their karma, and karma includes merit and demerit.
— from The Gospel of Buddha, Compiled from Ancient Records by Paul Carus - 60 They belong to the [pg 071] theory of the stream of catenated law which produces merit and demerit, and finally brings Karma into full sway.
— from The Secret Doctrine, Vol. 1 of 4 by H. P. (Helena Petrovna) Blavatsky - Brahman, as a creator and dispenser, acts with a view to the merit and demerit of the individual souls, and has so acted from all eternity.
— from The Vedanta-Sutras with the Commentary by SankaracaryaSacred Books of the East, Volume 1 - “You will place no demerit marks against Jim’s name.
— from The Mercer Boys at Woodcrest by Capwell Wyckoff - In two years he had not had one demerit mark.
— from In the School-Room: Chapters in the Philosophy of Education by John S. (John Seely) Hart - Demerit for absences and other irregularities is also marked in like manner, and made the basis of discipline.
— from A Collection of College Words and Customs by Benjamin Homer Hall - He also kept a list of merit marks, a certain number of which cancelled a certain greater number of demerit marks.
— from The Riverpark Rebellion by Homer Greene - It is neither moral nor immoral nor of any other intrinsic merit or demerit.
— from Papers and Proceedings of the Thirty-Fifth General Meeting of the American Library Association Held at Kaaterskill, N. Y., June 23-28, 1913 - 'The King past to the isles, and there held justice courts, and punished both thief and traitor according to their demerit.
— from The Lady of the Lake by Walter Scott - After the exhaustion of his demerit by such sufferings he regains the status of humanity.
— from The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 4Books 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18
