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Literary notes about Fortuitous (AI summary)

The term "fortuitous" in literature often conveys the idea of chance or accidental occurrence, while simultaneously inviting reflection on deeper notions of order versus randomness. In philosophical writings, it is used to question whether events or structures arise from a random aggregation—such as a "fortuitous concourse of atoms" that may or may not reflect an underlying unity ([1], [2], [3])—or if there is an unseen design at work. In narrative texts, it designates those unexpected, serendipitous moments that alter the course of events, be they joyful coincidences like unexpected meetings ([4], [5]) or ironic twists that lead to both fortune and misfortune ([6], [7]). Additionally, its nuanced application extends to historical and aesthetic commentary, where seemingly random events sometimes provoke reflections on destiny, providence, and the interplay of chance with human endeavor ([8], [9]).
  1. Has the universe any unity of plan or purpose, or is it a fortuitous concourse of atoms?
    — from The Problems of Philosophy by Bertrand Russell
  2. But species owe as little to the accidental concurrence of environing circumstances as kosmos depends upon a fortuitous concourse of atoms.
    — from The World's Greatest Books — Volume 15 — Science
  3. Does nature manifest the intervention of a directing mind, or do we see in it only a fortuitous aggregation of atoms?
    — from The Heavenly Father: Lectures on Modern Atheism by Ernest Naville
  4. We congratulated each other upon our fortuitous meeting and upon the conformity in our tastes, which we thought truly wonderful.
    — from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova
  5. Was it love, she wondered, or a mere fortuitous combination of happy thoughts and sensations?
    — from The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
  6. I should like to think that it is not entirely fortuitous that this added impulse is given to our work just at this time.
    — from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson
  7. It was the one fortuitous touch needed to open that inner chamber of her heart, closed, hitherto, even to her own consciousness.
    — from A Romance in Transit by Francis Lynde
  8. This was attributable not only to particular and fortuitous circumstances, but to general and lasting causes.
    — from Democracy in America — Volume 2 by Alexis de Tocqueville
  9. Their fortuitous ugliness achieves a new beauty.
    — from Out and About London by Thomas Burke

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