All 3 Uses of
chimera
in
Frankenstein - 1831 version
- If, instead of this remark, my father had taken the pains to explain to me that the principles of Agrippa had been entirely exploded and that a modern system of science had been introduced which possessed much greater powers than the ancient, because the powers of the latter were chimerical, while those of the former were real and practical, under such circumstances I should certainly have thrown Agrippa aside and have contented my imagination, warmed as it was, by returning with greater ardour to my former studies.†
p. 41.0
- I was required to exchange chimeras of boundless grandeur for realities of little worth.†
p. 48.4 *chimeras = imagined things that are not possible in the real world
- The modern masters promise very little; they know that metals cannot be transmuted and that the elixir of life is a chimera but these philosophers, whose hands seem only made to dabble in dirt, and their eyes to pore over the microscope or crucible, have indeed performed miracles.†
p. 49.1
Definitions:
-
(1)
(chimera) a wild, unrealistic idea or hope; or a mythical creature made from parts of different animals
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(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
As a proper noun Chimera refers to a fire-breathing monster in Greek mythology. It is a female monster with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail.
More rarely, in biology, a chimera is an organism that contains cells or tissues with a different genotype.
Chimaera is also an acceptable spelling and the name of a type of fish.