All 4 Uses of
edict
in
Atlas Shrugged
- He had taken many losses under laws of a similar justice, under rules and edicts that had cost him much larger sums of money; he had borne them and fought and worked the harder; it was not likely that this case had broken him.†
Chpt 1.10 *
- Incredulously, he realized what it was that had been expected of him: he, the victim, chained, bound, gagged and left with no recourse save to bribery, had been expected to believe that the farce he had purchased was a process of law, that the edicts enslaving him had moral validity, that he was guilty of corrupting the integrity of the guardians of justice, and that the blame was his, not theirs.†
Chpt 3.5
- …is the recognition of the fact that yours is the responsibility of judgment and nothing can help you escape it-that no substitute can do your thinking, as no pinch-hitter can live your lifethat the vilest form of self-abasement and self-destruction is the subordination of your mind to the mind of another, the acceptance of an authority over your brain, the acceptance of his assertions as facts, his say-so as truth, his edicts as middle-man between your consciousness and your existence.†
Chpt 3.7
- He wants them to surrender their consciousness to his assertions, his edicts, his wishes, his whims-as his consciousness is surrendered to theirs.†
Chpt 3.7
Definition:
-
(edict) an order -- typically a formal proclamation or a legally binding court decreeeditor's notes: Synonym Comparison (if you're into word choice):
As compared to "proclamation", "order", or "legal finding", "edict" is often chosen to imply that the order is unfair.