Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
3,589,731,074 visitors served.
forum Join the Word of the Day Mailing List For webmasters
?
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

apology

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Legal, Idioms, Wikipedia 0.01 sec.
apology [Gr.,=defense], literary work that defends, justifies, or clarifies an author's ideas or point of view. Unlike the ordinary use of the word, the literary use neither implies that wrong has been done nor expresses regret. The most famous ancient example, Plato's Apology (3d cent. B.C.), presents Socrates' defense of himself at his trial before the Athenian government. Sir Philip Sidney's Apologie for Poetrie and Defense of Poesie (both: 1580), which examine the art of poetry and its condition in England, apparently were written to justify the poets' craft after it had been attacked by critics. A third famous example, Cardinal Newman's spiritual autobiography Apologia pro Vita sua (1864), was written to clarify the Cardinal's views after they had been misrepresented in an essay by Charles Kingsley.

apology

In literature, an autobiographical form in which a defense is the framework for discussion of the author's personal beliefs. Examples include Plato's Apology (4th century BC), in which Socrates answers his accusers by giving a history of his life and moral commitment, and John Henry Newman's Apologia pro Vita Sua (1864), an examination of the principles that inspired his conversion to Roman Catholicism.



How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Feedback
Mentioned in?  References in classic literature?   Encyclopedia browser?   Full browser?
No references found
 
In what relation the Apology of Plato stands to the real defence of Socrates, there are no means of determining.
In England alone, the incomprehensible and discourteous custom prevails of keeping the host and the dinner waiting for half an hour or more--without any assignable reason and without any better excuse than the purely formal apology that is implied in the words, "Sorry to be late.
If I might offer any apology for so exaggerated a fiction as the Barnacles and the Circumlocution Office, I would seek it in the common experience of an Englishman, without presuming to mention the unimportant fact of my having done that violence to good manners, in the days of a Russian war, and of a Court of Inquiry at Chelsea.
 
 
 
Encyclopedia
?

Terms of Use | Privacy policy | Feedback | Copyright © 2012 Farlex, Inc.
Disclaimer
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.