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Literary notes about utile (AI summary)

Throughout literary history, the term "utile" has been employed to capture a sense of what is advantageous or beneficial—often with moral, aesthetic, or practical connotations. In classical Latin texts, for instance, Cicero and his contemporaries use "utile" to distinguish that which is not only expedient but also aligned with ethical propriety, contrasting it with what is deemed shameful or inappropriate ([1], [2], [3]). Poets like Horace and authors such as Robert Burton extend this idea by coupling "utile" with concepts of pleasure—illustrating the harmonious blend of the beneficial and the delightful ([4], [5], [6]). In more modern discussions, the word retains its focus on efficacy, as seen in its application to technological innovations or practical arrangements that improve everyday life ([7], [8]). This multifaceted usage underscores the term’s enduring role in articulating the intersection of utility, virtue, and the sensory pleasures of life.
  1. Sed omnium una regula est, quam tibi cupio esse notissimam, aut illud, quod utile videtur, turpe ne sit aut, si turpe est, ne videatur esse utile.
    — from De Officiis by Marcus Tullius Cicero
  2. Hoc visum est utile; nimis enim imminebat propter propinquitatem Aegina Piraeo.
    — from De Officiis by Marcus Tullius Cicero
  3. Quousque audebunt dicere quicquam utile, quod non honestum?
    — from De Officiis by Marcus Tullius Cicero
  4. Omne tulit punctum, qui miscuit utile dulci.
    — from The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton
  5. The phrase is from Horace, Ars Poetica 343: omne tulit punctum qui miscuit utile dulci (i.e. combine the useful with the pleasant).
    — from The New-York Weekly Magazine, or Miscellaneous Repository Forming an Interesting Collection of Original and Select Literary Productions in Prose and Verse
  6. "Yet, even though we intend to exterminate one another, why should we not enjoy our jest, and thus combine utile with dulce ?
    — from Fathers and Sons by Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev
  7. De ce fait, pour ce que je considère utile de conserver, les documents sont souvent en double exemplaire, imprimé et numérique.
    — from Entretiens / Interviews / Entrevistas by Marie Lebert
  8. Cette technologie pourrait être utile pour les manuels des lycées et collèges, grâce à quoi les cartables seraient beaucoup plus légers.
    — from Entretiens / Interviews / Entrevistas by Marie Lebert

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