Literary notes about Neither (AI summary)
The word “neither” is often used in literature as a versatile tool to express negation by linking two or more alternatives and emphasizing their mutual absence or insufficiency. In classical texts such as Plato’s works ([1]) and biblical passages ([2], [3]), “neither” helps underscore absolute or exclusive conditions. It appears in epic poetry and sagas too, as seen in the juxtaposition of incomparable forces in Snorri Sturluson’s verse ([4]) and the balanced contrasts in Jane Austen’s narratives ([5], [6]). Moreover, in works spanning diverse genres—from Jules Verne’s adventure narratives ([7], [8]) to Kant’s philosophical treatises ([9])—the use of “neither” serves to neatly disarm one possibility in favor of affirming what follows, creating rhythm, precision, and clarity in contrast.
- Neither can they doubt this.
— from The Republic of Plato by Plato - And no one knoweth the Son but the Father: neither doth any one know the Father, but the Son, and he to whom it shall please the Son to reveal him.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - Neither become ye idolaters, as some of them, as it is written: The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. 10:8.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - Neither Thor’s nor Thjalfe’s heart From fear did tremble.
— from The Younger Edda; Also called Snorre's Edda, or The Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson - Neither Mr. Suckling nor me had ever any patience with them; and we used sometimes to say very cutting things!
— from Emma by Jane Austen - She coloured as she spoke; but neither that, nor any thing else, awakened a suspicion of the truth.
— from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - On this Friday, October 9th, he noted his arrival at Suez, and observed that he had as yet neither gained nor lost.
— from Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne - Neither bricks nor tools are wanting now.
— from The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne - But to neither of these opinions shall we at present object.
— from The Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant