All 3 Uses of
despot
in
War and Peace
- Then Robespierre was beheaded for being a despot.†
Chpt 4 *
- Had he forced her to prostrate herself to the ground all night, had he beaten her or made her fetch wood or water, it would never have entered her mind to think her position hard; but this loving despot—the more cruel because he loved her and for that reason tormented himself and her—knew how not merely to hurt and humiliate her deliberately, but to show her that she was always to blame for everything.†
Chpt 8
- On the ancient monuments of barbarism and despotism I will inscribe great words of justice and mercy….†
Chpt 11
Definition:
-
(despot) a ruler with absolute power -- especially one who abuses that power