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Literary notes about reminiscence (AI summary)

The term "reminiscence" is deployed in literature with a remarkable breadth, functioning both as a philosophical concept and as a vehicle for evoking nostalgia. In early philosophical texts, it is used to suggest that learning is merely the soul's recovery of eternal truths, a notion that Plato famously expounds in his discussions on the pre-existence of the soul [1, 2, 3]. Later literary works repurpose the word to capture the bittersweet quality of personal memory—conjuring images of childhood, lost eras, or even historical echoes that resurface in the present [4, 5, 6]. Additionally, some authors employ "reminiscence" to indicate indirect allusions to myth or cultural heritage, adding layers of meaning to their narratives [7, 8]. Across these varied contexts, the word enriches the text by linking individual recollections to universal themes of history and identity.
  1. These were revealed to men in a former state of existence, and are recovered by reminiscence (anamnesis) or association from sensible things.
    — from Meno by Plato
  2. The main character of the Dialogue is Socrates; but to the 'general definitions' of Socrates is added the Platonic doctrine of reminiscence.
    — from Meno by Plato
  3. This is reminiscence: just as any one, seeing Simmias, is often reminded of Cebes, and so in an infinite number of similar instances."
    — from Apology, Crito, and Phaedo of Socrates by Plato
  4. Its instability startled me extremely, and I had a queer reminiscence of the childish days when I used to be forbidden to meddle.
    — from The Time Machine by H. G. Wells
  5. H2 anchor Warble for Lilac-Time Warble me now for joy of lilac-time, (returning in reminiscence,)
    — from Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
  6. Both men had simultaneously a reminiscence of childhood, of the elfin and adventurous time when tall weeds close over us like woods.
    — from The innocence of Father Brown by G. K. Chesterton
  7. The strains of the polonaise, which had continued for a considerable time, had begun to sound like a sad reminiscence to Natásha’s ears.
    — from War and Peace by graf Leo Tolstoy
  8. For the legend of Busiris seems to preserve a reminiscence of human sacrifices once offered by the Egyptians in connexion with the worship of Osiris.
    — from The Golden Bough: A Study of Magic and Religion by James George Frazer

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