Word Meaning

[Mher]

Hi. I am at a loss to understand the meaning of the word "suggestion" in the following sentence: "I contending that a popular sentiment arising with absolute spontaneity- that is to say, without apparent traces of suggestion- had in itself the unmistakable elements of truth, and was entitled to as much respect as that intuition which is the idiosyncrasy of the individual man of genius." http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/POE/sphinx1.html

 

[probus]

You are not alone.

 

[Raymott]

The sentiment arose spontaneously, without anyone 'suggesting' it. 'Suggestion' could have the connotations of brainwashing, convincing, hypnotising, persuading, or simply literally suggesting.
By the way, your quote is not the full sentence.

 

[Rover_KE]

Mher, please note that a better title would have been Meaning of 'suggestion'.

Extract from the Posting Guidelines:

'Thread titles should include all or part of the word/phrase being discussed.'

 

[Mher]

I know that my quote is not full, but I think this much is enough to catch the context. Returning to the topic, can I use the phrase "external interference" instead of "suggestion?"
Thank you in advance.

 

[Raymott]

I know that my quote is not full, but I think this much is enough to catch the context. Returning to the topic, can I use the phrase "external interference" instead of "suggestion?"
Thank you in advance.

No, what you've written looks like a poorly-copied full sentence, starting, as it does, with "I contending ..." You could have started the quote with " ... - I contending ...", an ellipsis meaning that you've left something out.
No, you can't change a story by Poe. You can write your own story, and use "external interference" the way Poe has used "suggestion", if you like, but I can't see that you'd have a lot of use for it.

 

[Mher]

I agree that I omitted some punctuation marks and you are right about it. I will take it into account;-). However, the essence of my question is not changed anyhow. In addition, I do not intend to change any word by Poe (he is great by the way). The point is that I am just translating his original stories into Armenian. Knowing in advance that Poe is a great master of picking exact words for a particular situation, I am trying to convey the mood of his stories to Armenian readers as figuratively as possible.