All 30 Uses of
solemn
in
The Iliad by Homer - (translated by: Edward)
- Embolden'd thus, th' unerring prophet spoke:
"Not for neglected hecatombs or pray'rs,
But for his priest, whom Agamemnon scorn'd,
Nor took his ransom, nor his child restor'd;
On his account the Far-destroyer sends
This scourge of pestilence, and yet will send;
Nor shall we cease his heavy hand to feel,
Till to her sire we give the bright-ey'd girl,
Unbought, unransom'd, and to Chrysa's shore
A solemn hecatomb despatch; this done,
The God, appeas'd, his anger may remit."†Chpt 1.1solemn = very serious--possibly dignified
- Next, proclamation through the camp was made
To purify the host; and in the sea,
Obedient to the word, they purified;
Then to Apollo solemn rites perform'd
With faultless hecatombs of bulls and goats,
Upon the margin of the wat'ry waste;
And, wreath'd in smoke, the savour rose to Heav'n.†Chpt 1.1
- For Jove is to a solemn banquet gone
Beyond the sea, on AEthiopia's shore,
Since yesternight; and with him all the Gods.†Chpt 1.1 *
- Lo, to confirm thy faith, I nod my head;
And well among th' immortal Gods is known
The solemn import of that pledge from me:
For ne'er my promise shall deceive, or fail,
Or be recall'd, if with a nod confirm'd.†Chpt 1.1
- Where then are now our solemn covenants,
Our plighted oaths?†Chpt 1.2
- At Priam's gate, in solemn conclave met,
Were gather'd all the Trojans, young and old:
Swift Iris stood amidst them, and, the voice
Assuming of Polites, Priam's son,
The Trojan scout, who, trusting to his speed,
Was posted on the summit of the mound
Of ancient AEsuetes, there to watch
Till from their ships the Grecian troops should march;
His voice assuming, thus the Goddess spoke:
"Old man, as erst in peace, so still thou lov'st
The strife of words; but fearful war is nigh.†Chpt 1.2
- The kings on either part take the solemn oath for the conditions of the combat.†
Chpt 1.2
- grant, ye heav'nly pow'rs,
That whosoe'er this solemn truce shall break,
Ev'n as this wine we pour, their hearts' best blood,
Theirs and their children's, on the earth be pour'd,
And strangers in subjection take their wives!†Chpt 1.3
- Then deeply groaning, Agamemnon spoke,
As Menelaus by the hand he held,
And with him groan'd his comrades: "Brother dear,
I wrought thy death when late, on compact sworn,
I sent thee forth alone for Greece to fight;
Wounded by Trojans, who their plighted faith
Have trodden under foot; but not in vain
Are solemn cov'nants and the blood of lambs,
The treaty wine outpoured, and hand-plight given,
Wherein men place their trust; if not at once,
Yet soon or late will Jove assert their claim;
And heavy penalties the perjured pay
With their own blood, their children's, and their wives'.†Chpt 1.4
- Helenus, the chief augur of Troy, commands Hector to return to the city, in order to appoint a solemn procession of the Queen and the Trojan matrons to the temple of Minerva, to entreat her to remove Diomed from the fight.†
Chpt 1.5
- But, by Apollo's grace should I prevail,
I will his arms strip off and bear to Troy,
And in Apollo's temple hang on high;
But to the ships his corpse I will restore,
That so the long-hair'd Greeks with solemn rites
May bury him, and to his mem'ry raise
By the broad Hellespont a lofty tomb;
And men in days to come shall say, who urge
Their full-oar'd bark across the dark-blue sea,
'Lo there a warrior's tomb of days gone by,
A mighty chief, whom glorious Hector slew:'
Thus shall they say, and thus my fame shall live.†Chpt 1.7
- He sent an eagle, noblest bird that flies,
Who in his talons bore a wild deer's fawn:
The fawn he dropp'd beside the holy shrine,
Where to the Lord of divination, Jove,
The Greeks were wont their solemn rites to pay.†Chpt 2.8
- Sev'n women too, well skill'd in household cares,
Lesbians, whom I selected for myself,
That day he captur'd Lesbos' goodly isle,
In beauty far surpassing all their sex:
These will I give; and with them will I send
The fair Briseis, her whom from his tent
I bore away; and add a solemn oath,
I ne'er approach'd her bed, nor held with her
Such intercourse as man with woman holds.†Chpt 2.9
- These will he give; and with them will he send
The fair Briseis, her whom from thy tent
He bore away; and add a solemn oath,
He ne'er approach'd her bed, nor held with her
Such intercourse as man with woman holds.†Chpt 2.9
- For ev'ry captain of a ship should give
A coal-black ewe, and at her foot a lamb,
A prize beyond compare; and high should be
His place at banquets and at solemn feasts.†Chpt 2.10
- Inviolable, by the stream of Styx,
Thy one hand laid upon the fruitful earth,
The other resting on the sparkling sea;
That all the Gods who in the nether realms
With Saturn dwell, may of our solemn bond
Be witnesses, that of the Graces one,
The youngest, fairest, I shall have to wife,
Pasithea, whom my love hath long pursued.†Chpt 2.14
- He said; and terror seiz'd the stag-ey'd Queen;
Who thus with winged words address'd her Lord:
"By Earth I swear, and yon broad Heav'n above,
And Stygian stream beneath, the weightiest oath
Of solemn pow'r to bind the blessed Gods;
By thine own sacred head, our nuptial bed,
Whose holy tie I never could forswear;
That not by my suggestion and advice
Earth-shaking Neptune on the Trojan host,
And Hector, pours his wrath, and aids the Greeks;
In this he but obeys his own desire,
Who looks with pity on the Grecian host
Beside their ships o'erborne; and could my words
Prevail, my counsel were to shape his course,
O cloud-girt King, obedient to thy will."†Chpt 2.15
- The heralds still'd the tumult of the crowd:
On polish'd chairs, in solemn circle, sat
The rev'rend Elders; in their hands they held
The loud-voic'd heralds' sceptres; waving these,
They heard th' alternate pleadings; in the midst
Two talents lay of gold, which he should take
Who should before them prove his righteous cause.†Chpt 2.18
- Agamemnon and Achilles are solemnly reconciled: the speeches, presents, and ceremonies on that occasion.†
Chpt 2.18solemnly = with seriousness and dignity
- Whom answer'd Juno thus, with deep deceit:
'Thou dost but feign, nor wilt fulfil thy word:
Come now, Olympian, swear a solemn oath
That he shall be the Lord of all around,
Who on this day shall be of woman born,
Of mortal men, who trace to thee their blood.'†Chpt 2.19solemn = very serious--possibly dignified
- She said, and Jove, the snare unseeing, swore
A solemn oath; but found his error soon.†Chpt 2.19
- She said: keen sorrow deeply pierc'd his soul;
Then Ate by the glossy locks he seiz'd
In mighty wrath; and swore a solemn oath,
That to Olympus and the starry Heav'n
She never should return, who all misleads.†Chpt 2.19
- Disperse then now the crowd, and bid prepare
The morning meal; meantime to public view
Let Agamemnon, King of men, display
His costly gifts; that all the Greeks may see,
And that thy heart within thee melt with joy:
And there in full assembly let him swear
A solemn oath, that he hath ne'er approach'd
The fair Briseis' bed, nor held with her
Such intercourse as man with woman holds.†Chpt 2.19
- Let then Achilles here awhile remain,
Though eager for the fray; ye too remain,
Until the presents from my tent be brought,
And we our solemn compact ratify.†Chpt 2.19
- What if I engage
That Helen's self, and with her all the spoil,
And all that Paris in his hollow ships
Brought here to Troy, whence first this war arose,
Should be restor'd; and to the Greeks be paid
An ample tribute from the city's stores,
Her secret treasures; and hereafter bind
The Trojans by their Elders' solemn oaths
Nought to withhold, but fairly to divide
Whate'er of wealth our much-loved city holds?†Chpt 2.22
- He said; and they with mingled voices rais'd
The solemn dirge; Achilles led the strain;
Thrice round the dead they drove their sleek-skinn'd steeds,
Mourning, with hearts by Thetis grief-inspir'd;
With tears the sands, with tears the warriors' arms,
Were wet; so mighty was the chief they mourn'd.†Chpt 2.23
- sorrowing then
Look'd o'er the dark-blue sea, as thus lie spoke:
"Sperchius, all in vain to thee his pray'r
My father Peleus made, and vow'd that I,
Return'd in safety to my native land,
To thee should dedicate my hair, and pay
A solemn hecatomb, with sacrifice
Of fifty rams, unblemish'd, to the springs
Where on thy consecrated soil is plac'd
Thine incense-honour'd altar;†Chpt 2.23
- The first was Teucer's; with impetuous force
He shot; but vow'd not to the Archer-King
Of firstling lambs a solemn hecatomb.†Chpt 2.23
- Then snatch'd Meriones in haste the bow
From Teucer's hand; his own already held
His arrow, pointed straight; he drew the string,
And to the far-destroying King he vow'd
Of firstling lambs a solemn hecatomb.†Chpt 2.23
- The mound erected, back they turn'd; and all
Assembled duly, shar'd the solemn feast
In Priam's palace, Heav'n-descended King.†Chpt 2.24
Definitions:
-
(1)
(solemn) in a very serious (and often dignified) manner
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Less commonly, solemn can mean that something was done with great or appropriate ceremony. It can also be used to describe something as dark or undecorated.