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Literary notes about Disputatious (AI summary)

The word "disputatious" has been employed in literature to evoke lively, argumentative, or quarreling contexts. In classical sources, it appears as a defining characteristic of an individual whose nature is marked by a propensity for debate, as exemplified by the title in Diogenes Laertius's work, "The Euthydemus, or the Disputatious Man," suggesting not just argumentation but a systematic engagement with philosophical ideas ([1]). This notion is reinforced in descriptions where figures such as Protagoras are characterized as adept in contentious debates, highlighting a skillful mastery in discourse ([2]). In contrast, later literary works, like Washington Irving’s writings, use "disputatious" to denote a departure from calm or tranquil settings, alluding instead to a bustling and animated atmosphere imbued with vigorous discussion ([3]).
  1. The sixth tetralogy commences with the Euthydemus, or the Disputatious Man, a distinctive dialogue.
    — from The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers by Diogenes Laertius
  2. On which account Timon says of him:— Protagoras, that slippery arguer, In disputatious contests fully skilled.
    — from The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers by Diogenes Laertius
  3. There was a busy, bustling, disputatious tone about it, instead of the accustomed phlegm and drowsy tranquillity.
    — from The Sketch-Book of Geoffrey Crayon by Washington Irving

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