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Literary notes about Tests (AI summary)

The term "tests" in literature is employed in a remarkably versatile manner, often shifting its meaning based on context. In scientific and empirical texts, it denotes rigorous experiments or evaluations aimed at confirming hypotheses, as seen in examples involving guinea-pig experiments ([1]), clinical analyses ([2]), and soil analyses ([3]). In contrast, literary and philosophical works harness the term metaphorically; for instance, it embodies measures of truth or character, as in the criteria for determining knowledge or virtue ([4], [5], [6]), and even reflects socio-cultural rituals or legal assessments ([7], [8]). Additionally, in poetic and dramatic writings, "tests" serve as structural or performance benchmarks ([9], [10], [11]), signifying both literal challenges and symbolic encounters. This diversity underscores how "tests" functions not only as an instrument of empirical verification but also as a metaphorical tool for exploring human, social, and aesthetic dimensions.
  1. It should be realized that the results of these tests on guinea-pigs cannot be applied to man without tests on other species.
    — from Scurvy, Past and Present by Alfred F. Hess
  2. Clinical tests show that the blood contains sufficient antitoxin (diphtheria) to afford protection.
    — from Scurvy, Past and Present by Alfred F. Hess
  3. Soil tests repeatedly showed a lack of phosphate.
    — from Northern Nut Growers Association Report of the Proceedings at the 44th Annual Meeting
  4. True knowledge is a whole, and is at rest; consistency and universality are the tests of truth.
    — from The Republic by Plato
  5. The act of striving to realize it tests its worth.
    — from Democracy and Education: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education by John Dewey
  6. One of the tests of virtue is noticed, "lac in ubere".
    — from The Danish History, Books I-IX by Grammaticus Saxo
  7. Yet even here, rightly or wrongly, the law has gone far in the direction of adopting external tests.
    — from The Common Law by Oliver Wendell Holmes
  8. One of the tests by which to distinguish between the woman of breeding and the woman merely of wealth, is to notice the way she speaks to dependents.
    — from Etiquette by Emily Post
  9. With his tongue he tests the mixture, Weighs it long and well considers,
    — from Kalevala : the Epic Poem of Finland — Complete
  10. Metrical tests, Notes S , BB .
    — from Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth by A. C. Bradley
  11. See Style and Metrical tests .
    — from Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth by A. C. Bradley

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