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Literary notes about pythonic (AI summary)

In literary texts, "pythonic" is frequently deployed as an adjective linked to divinatory practices and mystical arts. Often, it describes those who invoke hidden or spiritual forces—such as consulting pythonic spirits for accessing truths from beyond the mortal realm [1, 2, 3]—or it highlights the specialized art of divination itself, as seen in the context of deciphering entrails [4]. At times, the term takes on allegorical nuances, suggesting a deep, albeit obscured, connection to ancient Greek religious transactions [5]. The word can also be employed in a more satirical frame, critiquing overly animated yet absurd displays of creative genius [6], and serving to contrast the authentic oracles of pagan deities with other forms of mystical inquiry [7].
  1. Nor charmer, nor any one that consulteth pythonic spirits, or fortune tellers, or that seeketh the truth from the dead.
    — from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete
  2. that consulteth pythonic spirits, or fortune-tellers, or that seeketh the truth from the dead.”
    — from Moral Principles and Medical Practice: The Basis of Medical Jurisprudence by Charles Coppens
  3. any one that consulteth pythonic spirits, or fortune tellers": and it is stated in the Decretals (26, qu.
    — from Summa Theologica, Part II-II (Secunda Secundae) Translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province by Thomas, Aquinas, Saint
  4. Those who came after these were the first who gained skill in divination from entrails, and attained the Pythonic art.
    — from The Danish History, Books I-IX by Grammaticus Saxo
  5. The Pythonic allegory which the Greeks have so obscured, in reality originated in this religious transaction.
    — from The Round Towers of Ireland; or, The History of the Tuath-De-Danaans by Henry O'Brien
  6. What a description of labouring nonsense—of the Pythonic genius of absurdity, panting and heaving on his solemnly ridiculous tripod!
    — from The Poetical Works of John Dryden, Volume 2 With Life, Critical Dissertation, and Explanatory Notes by John Dryden
  7. The oracles of the pagan gods and goddesses were not all the work of the pythonic spirits.
    — from Moral Principles and Medical Practice: The Basis of Medical Jurisprudence by Charles Coppens

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