corpus vile

/ ˈkɔːpəs ˈvaɪlɪ /

noun

1. a person or thing fit only to be the object of an experiment

Word History and Origins

Origin of corpus vile¹

literally: worthless body

Example Sentences

But this is not the worst; they never hesitate, at their country's risk and cost, to carry out their own favorite schemes to an experiment; in fact, they often seem to value office mainly for that purpose, and to regard their country chiefly as the corpus vile on which the experiment is to be made.

From Project Gutenberg

If his reputation suffered by his tender of himself as a corpus vile for the benefit of future generations, he was prepared to take this risk, as he was prepared to take the risks of the two electric shocks, which nearly cost him his life, in the promotion of human knowledge.

From Project Gutenberg

Let it suffice for the moment to point out that he had been honoured with commissions to paint pictures for the Cathedral of Seville, once a Temple to Venus, and possessing to this day, if the writer has been truly informed, dungeons wherein the officers of Holy Inquisition wrought their will upon the corpus vile of the heretic.

From Project Gutenberg

I know it is wrong-headed, generalising from a particular case and all that—but I would rather be wrong-headed with Jeremy, who took a back-view of everything, than right-headed with some forward spirits who treat the land as a corpus vile for political experiments.

From Project Gutenberg

Among induced apparitions may be reckoned the materialized forms of spiritual s�ances, which have a material basis of veils, false moustaches, wigs and the corpus vile of the medium.

From Project Gutenberg