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Literary notes about indolent (AI summary)

The term "indolent" is employed in literature to evoke a spectrum of qualities ranging from habitual laziness and inactivity to a languid, almost serene detachment. In some works, it is used pejoratively to critique a lack of ambition or diligence, as seen when characters are depicted as slothful or unwilling to exert themselves ([1], [2], [3]). In other instances, however, it takes on a more nuanced role, describing an unhurried, contemplative state that, while seemingly idle, carries an air of refined repose or passive resistance to societal pressures ([4], [5], [6]). This varied usage highlights the word’s flexibility, enabling authors to explore both the moral implications of lethargy and its potential as a stylistic device in creating a distinct mood or character persona ([7], [8]).
  1. You’re too fastidious, and too indolent, and too rich.”
    — from The Portrait of a Lady — Volume 1 by Henry James
  2. He was as indolent as ever and showed no very strenuous desire to hunt up an occupation.
    — from The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson by Mark Twain
  3. The fruits of intellect do not grow among the indolent rich.
    — from Pushing to the Front by Orison Swett Marden
  4. In a swinging hammock lying, Lightly flying, Zara, lovely indolent, O'er a fountain's crystal wave There to lave Her young beauty—see her bent.
    — from Poems by Victor Hugo
  5. The waves, too, nodded their indolent crests; and across the wide trance of the sea, east nodded to west, and the sun over all.
    — from Moby Dick; Or, The Whale by Herman Melville
  6. I gave every afternoon totally up to my indolent and careless disposition, and to following without regularity the impulse of the moment.
    — from The Confessions of Jean Jacques Rousseau — Complete by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
  7. On account of the abundance which the soil produces, the people are lazy and indolent in their mode of life.
    — from The Geography of Strabo, Volume 3 (of 3) by Strabo
  8. There was nothing indolent about him, but his appearance spoke of tranquillity.
    — from A Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne

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