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Literary notes about propitiate (AI summary)

The term "propitiate" is used across literature to convey the idea of appeasing or winning favor, often through the performance of specific acts or sacrifices. In ancient texts like Homer's works [1, 2, 3], the word is linked with rituals intended to appease deities such as Minerva and Jove, illustrating its religious connotations. This meaning extends into anthropological discussions, as seen in Frazer's analysis [4, 10–12, 18, 22] where offerings are made to placate spirits, ghosts, or nature deities. Moreover, authors like Dickens, Dumas, and Shaw [4, 5, 6, 7] expand its usage to more interpersonal or even social contexts, where propitiation may involve efforts to avoid displeasure or secure favor from other individuals. Even a humorous twist appears in Wagner's narrative [8], showing the word’s versatility in both sacred and secular realms.
  1. I wish first and foremost to propitiate the great goddess Minerva, who manifested herself visibly to me during yesterday's festivities.
    — from The Odyssey by Homer
  2. Whoe'er he be, propitiate Jove with prayer; If man, destroy; if god, entreat to spare.
    — from The Iliad by Homer
  3. did he not propitiate you with many a burnt sacrifice?
    — from The Odyssey by Homer
  4. ‘And I hope a worthy namesake,’ observed Mr. Kenwigs, willing to propitiate the collector.
    — from Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens
  5. I have told you of her attempts to propitiate M. de Villefort, her devotion to the elder Dantès.
    — from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet
  6. My father is Miss Havisham's cousin; not that that implies familiar intercourse between them, for he is a bad courtier and will not propitiate her.”
    — from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
  7. To propitiate you, let me explain myself.
    — from Man and Superman: A Comedy and a Philosophy by Bernard Shaw
  8. That day I was to propitiate a cheese-monger who occupied a fifth-floor apartment in the Cite.
    — from My Life — Volume 1 by Richard Wagner

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