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Literary notes about non (AI summary)

The word “non” functions as a versatile negator in literature, used to indicate absence, denial, or a contrast in meaning. In classical works and philosophical texts, authors employ “non” to mark what is lacking or to reject a particular state or quality—as seen in Kant’s remark that “nothing happens by blind chance (in mundo non datur casus)” ([1]) and Cicero’s critical expositions ([2], [3]). In poetic and narrative works, “non” emphasizes exclusion or negation, whether in a literary refrain like Marie Lebert’s “Non pas les débats sur la reproduction…” ([4]) or in characterizing identities as in “my only source of anxiety now was the non-appearance of Holmes” ([5]). Furthermore, “non” appears as a prefix in modern descriptive contexts, transforming adjectives to denote a specific absence such as “non-intoxicating” coffee ([6]) or “non-resident” status ([7]). This widespread use—from ancient Latin maxims to contemporary expressions—demonstrates how “non” consistently contributes a nuanced layer of meaning that both defines and refines the subject by what it specifically excludes.
  1. Hence the proposition, “Nothing happens by blind chance (in mundo non datur casus),” is an a priori law of nature.
    — from The Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant
  2. III, 198); Non enim rumores ponebat MSS.; Non ponebat enim alii.
    — from De Officiis by Marcus Tullius Cicero
  3. Promises, non-fulfilment sometimes a duty, i , 32 ; iii , 92-95 ; sacred though given to an enemy, i , 39-40 .
    — from De Officiis by Marcus Tullius Cicero
  4. Non pas les débats sur la reproduction par le net, mais la reproduction elle-même.
    — from Entretiens / Interviews / Entrevistas by Marie Lebert
  5. My only source of anxiety now was the non-appearance of Holmes.
    — from The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
  6. A prominent Chicago packer put out a new brand of coffee which he claimed was "non-intoxicating," "poisonless," and the "only pure coffee."
    — from All About Coffee by William H. Ukers
  7. With good speed: I would wish you, At such time as you are non-resident With your husband, my mistress. JULIA.
    — from The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster

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