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Literary notes about enkindle (AI summary)

The word "enkindle" in literature has been employed both in its literal sense of igniting a flame and in a more figurative capacity to spark emotions or actions. In classical texts such as Lucretius’ work, the term is used to describe the physical process wherein bodies initiate their own momentum or even set ablaze structures, as seen in [1] and [2]. Similarly, in the context of controlling or evoking light, Edgar Allan Poe’s characters deliberate over enkindling a wick to examine matters in darkness ([3], [4]). This duality of usage extends to more metaphorically rich expressions in modern works like Joyce’s, where the word conveys a kind of passionate awakening, as demonstrated in [5]. Further examples in historical narratives and sociological texts ([6], [7], [8]) illustrate how "enkindle" is adept at conveying both the physical ignition and the stirring of collective courage or spirit, demonstrating its broad versatility in literary language.
  1. Some certain bodies, which by their own blows Enkindle its velocity.
    — from On the Nature of Things by Titus Lucretius Carus
  2. Again, they often enkindle even the roofs Of houses and inside the very rooms With swift flame hold a fierce dominion.
    — from On the Nature of Things by Titus Lucretius Carus
  3. “If it is any point requiring reflection,” observed Dupin, as he forebore to enkindle the wick, “we shall examine it to better purpose in the dark.”
    — from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven Edition by Edgar Allan Poe
  4. “If it is any point requiring reflection,” observed Dupin, as he forebore to enkindle the wick, “we shall examine it to better purpose in the dark.”
    — from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 2 by Edgar Allan Poe
  5. Life of life, thy lips enkindle.
    — from Ulysses by James Joyce
  6. No sooner did the god of day His glorious locks enkindle, Than both the wheels began to play, And from each whirling spindle
    — from Fables of La Fontaine — a New Edition, with Notes by Jean de La Fontaine
  7. A nod from a beloved leader of any army is sufficient to enkindle anew the courage of the regiment and to lead them irresistibly into sure death.
    — from Introduction to the Science of Sociology by E. W. Burgess and Robert Ezra Park
  8. Let us also, as men of noble birth, as is worthy of the Fabian name, enkindle the courage of the soldiers by fighting rather than by exhorting."
    — from The History of Rome, Books 01 to 08 by Livy

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