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Literary notes about underrate (AI summary)

In literary usage, the term "underrate" is employed to highlight the potential danger or folly of underestimating something of importance. For instance, in Macdonell’s exploration of Sanskrit literature, underrate is used to warn that one might not fully grasp the magnitude of a massive literary undertaking [1]. Aesop, conversely, employs it in a more personal moral context, suggesting that some men fail to appreciate their own best blessings [2]. Thomas Jefferson emphasizes its critical role in scholarly discourse, noting that undervaluing certain intellectual traditions would be a mistake in the pursuit of linguistic science [3]. Meanwhile, Edith Wharton uses it to assert an appreciation for the aesthetic aspects of life [4]. Nesta Helen Webster and Oscar Wilde further extend this idea into the realms of societal caution and personal reassessment, respectively, warning against the minimization of significant, albeit controversial, themes or individual potential [5][6]. Lastly, Emerson cautions against a systematic underrating of vital literary works, underscoring a recurrent literary concern with the dangers of underestimation [7].
  1. It traces the growth of a literature so clearly and simply, that one is apt to underrate the magnitude of the undertaking.
    — from A History of Sanskrit Literature by Arthur Anthony Macdonell
  2. Some men underrate their best blessings.
    — from Aesop's Fables by Aesop
  3. Far be it from me, therefore, to underrate the value of Aryan and Semitic scholarship for a successful prosecution of the Science of Language.
    — from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson
  4. he went on, "I don't underrate the decorative side of life.
    — from The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
  5. But this is not to underrate the importance of the Jewish peril.
    — from Secret societies and subversive movements by Nesta Helen Webster
  6. You underrate yourself, Robert.
    — from An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde
  7. I would not be hurried by any love of system, by any exaggeration of instincts, to underrate the Book.
    — from Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson by Ralph Waldo Emerson

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