Literary notes about sacred (AI summary)
The word “sacred” in literature spans a wide spectrum of connotations, revealing both its religious and metaphorical resonance. In some texts, “sacred” designates tangible objects imbued with ritual significance, as seen in the sacred laurel consumed by Apollo’s prophetess ([1]) or the rice sold for feeding holy pigeons ([2]). Likewise, it designates places and rites, from the sacred fire questioned in casual dialogue ([3]) to the Ganges water used in a ritualistic purification ([4]). Authors also extend its use to abstract or cultural domains, such as when sacred texts or commandments are invoked to underscore venerable traditions or moral obligations ([5], [6]). The range of usage—from sacred groves guarded by dragons ([7]) and mythic rivers flowing through enchanted domains ([8]) to the sacred covenant of matrimony ([9])—demonstrates how “sacred” functions as a versatile emblem of reverence and authority in literature.
- So Apollo’s prophetess ate the sacred laurel and was fumigated with it before she prophesied.
— from The Golden Bough: A Study of Magic and Religion by James George Frazer - The sacred {316} rice is for sale at the temples, not only to feed but to fatten the holy pigeons.
— from The Religions of Japan, from the Dawn of History to the Era of Méiji by William Elliot Griffis - "What has that to do with the sacred fire?
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - The morning sun pierced the waters; I purified myself in the Ganges, as though for a sacred initiation.
— from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda - “A knowledge of the sacred books would do you no end of good.”
— from The Lani People by Jesse F. Bone - I could have put up with his drunkenness and neglect of his business, if he had not broke one of the sacred commandments.
— from History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding - The golden fleece itself he gave to his wife’s father, who nailed it to an oak tree, guarded by a sleepless dragon in a sacred grove of Ares.
— from The Golden Bough: A Study of Magic and Religion by James George Frazer - In Xanadu did Kubla Khan A stately pleasure-dome decree: Where Alph, the sacred river, ran Through caverns measureless to man Down to a sunless sea.
— from English Literature by William J. Long - Then clearly the next thing will be to make matrimony sacred in the highest degree, and what is most beneficial will be deemed sacred?
— from The Republic by Plato
