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FeaturesThe original meaning of “seduction” was “to persuade a vassal, servant, soldier, etc. to desert his allegiances or service.” The OED dates that first usage from 1477, and it was only in 1560 that “seduction” came to be used also as inducing a woman to surrender her chastity. As usage evolved, “seduction” was generalized to mean “being persuaded to abandon, or betray, a commitment.” And also from early on, the term came to be used to cover “a cause of error; an allurement.” By 1782 we have “seductive” as “tending to lead astray,” and a decent gender balance was restored in 1803 with the appearance of “seductress.” Seduction is thus a central, indeed in certain respects, the central, idea, in political life. It signifies a course of action deliberately designed by one or more interested agents ... This article is available to subscribers and for individual purchaseSubscribe to TNC (Print and Online editions) Subscribe to TNC (Online only) This article originally appeared in The New Criterion, Volume 25 November 2006, on page 17 Copyright © 2009 The New Criterion | www.newcriterion.com http://www.newcriterion.com/articles.cfm/Seduction---politics-2523
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