Literary notes about destroy (AI summary)
The term "destroy" in literature often carries a dual weight, representing both tangible ruin and the symbolic collapse of ideals or identities. In some works, it serves as a call to radical, often divine, intervention—whether it be the apocalyptic promise to wipe out iniquities ([1]) or the legendary orders to obliterate enemy forces and even entire cities ([2], [3]). At times, it marks the tragic self-destruction of characters or the disintegration of societal structures, as when personal relationships and inner ideals are metaphorically consumed by the act of annihilation ([4], [5]). Moreover, classical narratives harness its power to depict the dramatic downfall of kingdoms and civilizations, revealing the catastrophic consequences awaiting those who stray from established paths of virtue or fate ([6], [7]). This layered use of "destroy" enriches literary landscapes by transforming mere physical demolition into a potent agent of narrative change.
- He said to Noe: The end of all flesh is come before me, the earth is filled with iniquity through them, and I will destroy them with the earth.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - Haste, therefore, noble Uther, to destroy the enemy; the victory shall be thine, and thou shalt be king of all Britain.
— from The Legends of King Arthur and His Knights by Sir James Knowles and Sir Thomas Malory - Τεφρόω, ῶ, (τέφρά, ashes) f. ώσω, to reduce to ashes, to consume, destroy, 2 Pe. 2.6.
— from A Greek-English Lexicon to the New Testament by William Greenfield - Destroy my desires, eradicate my ideals, show me something better, and I will follow you.
— from Notes from the Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - In passion to rend and destroy, he never forgot that his enemy was in like passion to rend and destroy.
— from The call of the wild by Jack London - THE EXPOSURE SUCH were the six men who had sworn to destroy the world.
— from The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare by G. K. Chesterton - At once thou hast destroy’d thyself and me, Thy town, thy senate, and thy colony!
— from The Aeneid by Virgil
