Circean poison

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Contents 1 English 1.1 Noun 1.2 Quotations 1.3 References

[edit] English

[edit] Noun

Circean poison (uncountable)

1. A draught of any kind that is magically and fatally infatuating, such as applause. The expression is named after Circe, from Greek mythology and particularly from her actions in the The Odyssey, when she tempted men to excess before turning them into pigs.

[edit] Quotations

• 1834. Carlyle, Thomas. "The Death of Edward Irving," essay from Fraser's Magazine 61 (1834)[1]:

  O foulest Circean draught, thou poison of Popular Applause! madness is in thee, and death; thy end is Bedlam and the Grave.

• 1878. John Henry Newman. An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine. p. 242[2]:

  "Is not this herd," he continues, " worse than Circean poison ?"

• 1908. Ruskin, John. St. Mark's Rest: The History of Venice Written for the Help of the Few ..., page 236[3]:

  So soon the worm that dies not is also upon him—in its fang Circean poison to make the victim one with his plague...

[edit] References

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1907 edition of The Nuttall Encyclopaedia.