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Literary notes about Exigency (AI summary)

In literature, the word "exigency" is often employed to convey an urgent, pressing circumstance that demands immediate action or decisive resolution. Authors deploy it to evoke both concrete and abstract crises; for instance, it might signal a practical need in a military or political scenario, as when a scribe is required over a soldier [1] or when a nation mobilizes under wartime pressures [2][3]. At the same time, it can underline a personal or moral imperative, as reflected in reflective passages that balance fate and self-help [4] or even mark a turning point in individual character development [5]. This dual use enables writers to capture the intensity of a moment while inviting readers to consider the varied forms of urgency that shape human endeavors.
  1. It was not a soldier that was then required for Philip's exigency, but a scribe.
    — from The Rise of the Dutch Republic — Complete (1574-84) by John Lothrop Motley
  2. This slight dependence upon foreign countries has been considerably reduced as the result of war exigency.
    — from Morals of Economic Internationalism by J. A. (John Atkinson) Hobson
  3. Its sweeping extent, under the exigency of war, is proclaimed by this same writer in words of peculiar weight:—
    — from Charles Sumner: his complete works, volume 17 (of 20) by Charles Sumner
  4. Walter Scott writes in his journal, in a sharp exigency: "God help—no, God bless —man must help himself."
    — from The Chief End of Man by George Spring Merriam
  5. She passed the towers of the church of St John: of the saint who had seemed to guard over her in the exigency of her existence.
    — from Sybil, Or, The Two Nations by Earl of Beaconsfield Benjamin Disraeli

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