Both Uses of
heathen
in
The Count of Monte Cristo
- The patron of The Young Amelia proposed as a place of landing the Island of Monte Cristo, which being completely deserted, and having neither soldiers nor revenue officers, seemed to have been placed in the midst of the ocean since the time of the heathen Olympus by Mercury, the god of merchants and robbers, classes of mankind which we in modern times have separated if not made distinct, but which antiquity appears to have included in the same category.†
Chpt 22-23 *
- By degrees the sun disappeared behind the western horizon; but as though to prove the truth of the fanciful ideas in heathen mythology, its indiscreet rays reappeared on the summit of every wave, as if the god of fire had just sunk upon the bosom of Amphitrite, who in vain endeavored to hide her lover beneath her azure mantle.†
Chpt 117
Definition:
-
(heathen) someone who is not civilized or not moral -- typically said humorously
or:
an offensive term for a person who does not believe in a preferred religion -- especially someone who grew up in a culture that is not familiar with the religion