All 4 Uses of
atone
in
The Count of Monte Cristo
- I fancied that I still heard faint moans, and imagining that the unfortunate jeweller might not be quite dead, I determined to go to his relief, by way of atoning in some slight degree, not for the crime I had committed, but for that which I had not endeavored to prevent.†
Chpt 45-46atoning = of a wrong: fixing or making up for
- May God accept my atonement in the preservation of these two existences!†
Chpt 117 *atonement = the process of fixing or making up for a wrong
- "Madame," replied Villefort, with a mournful smile, "I have already had the honor to observe that my father has—at least, I hope so—abjured his past errors, and that he is, at the present moment, a firm and zealous friend to religion and order—a better royalist, possibly, than his son; for he has to atone for past dereliction, while I have no other impulse than warm, decided preference and conviction."†
Chpt 5-6
- Alas, what would become of me who can only atone for evil by doing good?†
Chpt 117
Definitions:
-
(1)
(atone) to fix or make up for a wrong -- especially a sin (even if nothing can be done to make up for the wrong other than to show regret)
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Archaically, atone could also mean to agree, to appease, or to reconcile.