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Jesuitic JE-zoo-uht-ik adjective related to the Catholic Jesuit order; a person characterized by their cunning 1884Joris-Karl HuysmansAgainst The Grain'There is no doubt about it,' Des Esseintes mused, as he reasoned the matter and followed the progress of this introduction of the Jesuitic spirit into Fontenay.1903W. E. B. Du BoisThe Souls of Black FolkOn the other hand, another type of mind, shrewder and keener and more tortuous too, sees in the very strength of the anti-Negro movement its patent weaknesses, and with Jesuitic casuistry is deterred by no ethical considerations in the endeavor to turn this weakness to the black man's strength.1962Philip K. DickThe Man in the High CastleIdeological orientation suggesting medieval Jesuitic viewpoint exacerbated by post-Romantic Germanic nihilism.Labels: Joris-Karl Huysmans, Philip K. Dick, W. E. B. Du Bois
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dragonnade DRA-guhn-ayd noun persecution by military forces 1867Charles KingsleyThe Ancient RégimeWhen the ancient chivalry of France descended to that level, or rather delegated their functions to mercenaries of that level—when the knightly hosts who fought before Jerusalem allowed themselves to be superseded by the dragoons and dragonnades of Louis XIV.—then the end of the French chivalry was at hand, and came.1884Joris-Karl HuysmansAgainst The GrainThe architecture, costumes and customs during the time of the Maccabeans, of Rome under the Christian persecutions, of Spain under the Inquisition, of France during the Middle Ages, at the time of Saint Bartholomew and the Dragonnades, were studied with a meticulous care and noted with scientific accuracy.1888Richard C. TrenchOn the Study of WordsThe atrocious attempt of Lewis XIV. to convert the Protestants in his dominions to the Roman Catholic faith by quartering dragoons upon them, with license to misuse to the uttermost those who refused to conform, this 'booted mission' (mission bottée), as it was facetiously called at the time, has bequeathed 'dragonnade' to the French language. 'Refugee' had at the same time its rise, and owed it to the same event. They were called 'réfugiés' or 'refugees' who took refuge in some land less inhospitable than their own, so as to escape the tender mercies of these missionaries.Labels: Charles Kingsley, Joris-Karl Huysmans, Richard C. Trench
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jeremiad jaer-uh-MAI-uhd noun a lengthy complaint or harangue; a prophesy of doom 1884Joris-Karl HuysmansAgainst The GrainWhen Des Esseintes had studied theology, he was already sick and weary of the old monk's preachings and jeremiads, his theories on predestination and grace, his combats against the schisms.1901Matthew Phipps ShielThe Purple CloudHowever, the bodies here were not numerous, most, as before, being foreigners: and these, scattered about this strict old English burg that mourning dark night, presented such a scene of the baneful wrath of God, and all abomination of desolation, as broke me quite down at one place, where I stood in travail with jeremiads and sore sobbings and lamentations, crying out upon it all, God knows.1903Samuel ButlerThe Way of All FleshMoreover, Puritanism restricted natural pleasures; it substituted the Jeremiad for the Paean, and it forgot that the poor abuses of all times want countenance.1908Martha SummerhayesVanished ArizonaBut, alas, evil times have fallen upon us, and—I'm not writing a jeremiad—I took the book from the post office and when I saw the crossed guns and the '8' there was a lump in my throat, and I went into the barber shop and read it through before I left.1912O. HenryRolling StonesNot grief, but a hereditary rapprochement with death in the abstract, moved her to a dismal, watery snuffling, accompanied by her usual jeremiad.Labels: Joris-Karl Huysmans, Martha Summerhayes, Matthew Phipps Shiel, O. Henry, Samuel Butler
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logomachy lo-GAW-muh-kee noun a battle over words; a battle of words 1884Joris-Karl HuysmansAgainst The GrainAnd, in fact, the curiosity, the complicated naivete of the Christian language had also foundered. The balderdash of philosophers and scholars, the logomachy of the Middle Ages, thenceforth held absolute sway. The sooty mass of chronicles and historical books and cartularies accumulated, and the stammering grace, the often exquisite awkwardness of the monks, placing the poetic remains of antiquity in a ragout, were dead.1909Jack LondonRevolution and Other Essays'You are anachronisms. You stand in the way of humanity. To the scrap-heap with you.' To those that protested, and they were many, he said: 'This is no time for logomachy. You can argue for centuries. It is what you have done in the past. I have no time for argument. Get out of the way.'1970Mary RenaultFire From HeavenThe King had forbidden, and the philosopher did not want, the quibbling logomachy of eristics, that science which Sokrates had defined as making the worse cause look the better.Labels: Jack London, Joris-Karl Huysmans, Mary Renault
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