Literary notes about inexcusable (AI summary)
The word "inexcusable" has long been employed in literature to denote actions or behaviors that defy moral or social standards, often invoking a sense of irredeemable disapproval. Early uses, such as those by Addison and Steele, reveal the term’s capacity to criticize both lofty airs and lowliness in character, marking certain attitudes as beyond justification [1, 2]. Later authors, from Ibsen’s denunciation of a friend’s conduct [3] to Austen’s questioning of unsuitable examples for young women [4, 5], continue to use the term to highlight breaches in expected decorum or ethical conduct. Its application is not confined to interpersonal faults alone; writers like Emily Post admonish not only personal misbehavior but also incompetence in professional and social settings [6, 7, 8]. In a similar vein, the term finds its place in broader critiques—from challenging institutional inequalities [9] to examining legal negligence [10]—thus affirming its role as a powerful descriptor of actions that resist any plausible justification.
- This Temper of Mind would exempt a Man from an ignorant Envy of restless Men above him, and a more inexcusable Contempt of happy Men below him.
— from The Spectator, Volume 1 by Joseph Addison and Sir Richard Steele - I am, &c. Of all Hardnesses of Heart there is none so inexcusable as that of Parents towards their Children.
— from The Spectator, Volume 1 by Joseph Addison and Sir Richard Steele - Your conduct has been wholly inexcusable, Engstrand; and from this time forward I have done with you! ENGSTRAND.
— from Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen - Is it not inexcusable to give such an example to a daughter?
— from Lady Susan by Jane Austen - Those women are inexcusable who forget what is due to themselves, and the opinion of the world.
— from Lady Susan by Jane Austen - To allow impertinence or sloppy work is inexcusable, but it is equally inexcusable to show causeless irritability or to be overbearing or rude.
— from Etiquette by Emily Post - Even though the cause is carelessness rather than intentional indifference, the indifference is no less actual and the rudeness inexcusable.
— from Etiquette by Emily Post - To allow impertinence or sloppy work is inexcusable, but it is equally inexcusable to show causeless irritability or to be overbearing or rude.
— from Etiquette by Emily Post - We cannot base the education of future citizens on the present inexcusable inequality of wealth nor on physical differences of race.
— from Darkwater: Voices from Within the Veil by W. E. B. Du Bois - It would be inexcusable in the lawyer not to think about this and to make equivalent use of all the phenomena that are presented to him.
— from Criminal Psychology: A Manual for Judges, Practitioners, and Students by Hans Gross