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.
- 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 - III, 198); Non enim rumores ponebat MSS.; Non ponebat enim alii.
— from De Officiis by Marcus Tullius Cicero - 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 - Non pas les débats sur la reproduction par le net, mais la reproduction elle-même.
— from Entretiens / Interviews / Entrevistas by Marie Lebert - My only source of anxiety now was the non-appearance of Holmes.
— from The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle - 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 - 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