Both Uses of
despot
in
The Scarlet Letter
- The public is despotic in its temper; it is capable of denying common justice when too strenuously demanded as a right; but quite as frequently it awards more than justice, when the appeal is made, as despots love to have it made, entirely to its generosity.†
p. 108.9 *despotic = typical of a ruler who abuses absolute power
- The public is despotic in its temper; it is capable of denying common justice when too strenuously demanded as a right; but quite as frequently it awards more than justice, when the appeal is made, as despots love to have it made, entirely to its generosity.†
p. 109.0despots = rulers with absolute power -- especially those who abuses that power
Definition:
a ruler with absolute power -- especially one who abuses that power