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Literary notes about essential (AI summary)

The word “essential” is used in literature to signify something that is indispensable or fundamental to an argument, character, or process. Authors employ it to indicate that certain qualities or components are of primary importance—for instance, distinguishing an element that holds more value than another [1] or emphasizing an inherent inequality between forces shaping nations [2]. It also serves as a marker of core realities, whether in perceptual processes [3], the underpinning of moral interests [4], or even the irreplaceable nature of a cherished person or thing [5]. In each context, “essential” connects the abstract with the concrete, underscoring that what is truly indispensable remains central to understanding the narrative or argument.
  1. It is true that they do not have an equal importance; one is more essential than the other.
    — from The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life by Émile Durkheim
  2. [314] However, no such delay on the part of England could alter the essential inequality, in strength and preparation, between the two nations.
    — from The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783 by A. T. Mahan
  3. In its more complex forms it presupposes trains of ideas; but in its essential features it is present and operative at the perceptual level.
    — from Introduction to the Science of Sociology by E. W. Burgess and Robert Ezra Park
  4. Interest in learning from all the contacts of life is the essential moral interest.
    — from Democracy and Education: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education by John Dewey
  5. As the Door closed after him, it seemed to her as had she lost some one essential to her happiness.
    — from The Monk: A Romance by M. G. Lewis

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