Literary notes about injunction (AI summary)
The term "injunction" has been employed in literature to denote a wide spectrum of mandatory commands, ranging from divine orders and political imperatives to personal and moral edicts. In classical texts, such as Homer's epic, it embodies a fated decree ([1]), while in later works it functions as both a literal legal command ([2]) and a moral imperative, as seen when characters are urged to uphold personal or societal duties ([3], [4]). Authors have used the term to evoke the weight of official orders—as in military campaigns ([5]) or judicial mandates ([6])—as well as to capture the subtleties of familial advice or even prohibitions against certain behaviors ([7], [8]). This diversity highlights how "injunction" serves as a versatile tool in literature for framing authority, duty, and ethical obligation across various historical and cultural contexts.
- Had any mortal voice the injunction laid, Nor augur, priest, nor seer, had been obey'd.
— from The Iliad by Homer - The friends of the author, without waiting to consult him, instantly obtained an injunction from the Court of Chancery to stop the sale.
— from The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Vol. 01 (of 12) by Edmund Burke - In other words, the father’s injunction, “Guard and save every kopeck,” had become a hard and fast rule of the son’s.
— from Dead Souls by Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol - “Think of me to-morrow, my dear Emma, about four o'clock,” was Mrs. Weston's parting injunction; spoken with some anxiety, and meant only for her.
— from Emma by Jane Austen - "Admiral Chateau-Renaud had the rashness to obey this injunction, and the galleons entered Vigo Bay.
— from Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne - The publication of an edict, containing such an injunction, may be compared to unfurling the bloody flag; for murder and rapine were sure to follow.
— from Fox's Book of Martyrs by John Foxe - I have followed his injunction for many evenings.
— from Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen by H. C. Andersen - gaktûñ′ta—an injunction, command or rule, more particularly a prohibition or ceremonial tabu.
— from Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney
