Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country

[kadioguy]

“Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country”
(John F. Kennedy)
---
Why not "Don't ask"? Is it just an outdated way of negating "ask" (in the same way as "fear not", which means "don't fear")? Or is it meant to be parallelism? Or perhaps both?

 

[Barque]

It sounds more formal and more impressive than "Don't ask". It also parallels the "Ask" in the second part.

JFK said that in a speech, didn't he? Politicians try to word their speeches in a way that catches people's attention.

 

[SoothingDave]

It's an effective bit of rhetoric to phrase it that way. It is parallel with the second part and it seems to intensify the imperative.

 

[kadioguy]

It's an effective bit of rhetoric to phrase it that way. It is parallel with the second part and it seems to intensify the imperative.

Does the red part mean "a small and effective piece of rhetoric"?

 

[SoothingDave]

"Bit" means a small thing, yes.

We don't remember what he said before or after, but we remember this one line.

 

[Holmes]

“Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country”
(John F. Kennedy)
---
Why not "Don't ask"? Is it just an outdated way of negating "ask" (in the same way as "fear not", which means "don't fear")? Or is it meant to be parallelism? Or perhaps both?

It is often quoted like this: Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.

With the quote rendered thus, "not" and "but" form a correlative construction. Compare:

Ask not for a coffee, but for an espresso.