Literary notes about terminus (AI summary)
The term terminus carries a rich duality in literature, functioning both as a literal endpoint and as a metaphor for boundaries of thought or existence. In some contexts it denotes the physical end of a journey or railroad line—as seen when a station is described as the point where rails converge and a train comes to rest [1], [2], [3]—while in others it assumes an abstract role, representing the final goal or limit of a process [4], [5], [6]. Its mythological associations further deepen this significance, as references to Terminus highlight ancient beliefs about deities governing boundaries and landmarks, thereby merging the tangible with the symbolic [7], [8], [9], [10].
- At this tiny terminus there were two branches of rails and a car was in waiting.
— from The Secret House by Edgar Wallace - It is the lake terminus of the Omaha railroad.
— from Fifty Years In The Northwest With An Introduction And Appendix Containing Reminiscences, Incidents And Notes by William H. C. (William Henry Carman) Folsom - The Pacific Railroad proper finds its terminus at this important Nebraska town.
— from Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne - He fails in short to distinguish between taking the world's perfection as a necessary principle, and taking it only as a possible terminus ad quem.
— from Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking by William James - He lets it cover any process of conduction from a present idea to a future terminus, provided only it run prosperously.
— from Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking by William James - For the entire nervous system is nothing but a system of paths between a sensory terminus a quo and a muscular, glandular, or other terminus ad quem .
— from The Principles of Psychology, Volume 1 (of 2) by William James - 7. Whether it is reasonable to separate Janus and Terminus as two distinct deities.
— from The City of God, Volume I by Bishop of Hippo Saint Augustine - This matter, however, has been already discussed in connection with Janus and Terminus.
— from The City of God, Volume I by Bishop of Hippo Saint Augustine - In Roman mythology, Terminus was the god who presided over boundaries or landmarks.
— from Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson by Ralph Waldo Emerson - He also caused altars to be raised to Terminus, and instituted his festival (the Terminalia), which was celebrated on the 23rd of February.
— from Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome by E. M. Berens
