Literary notes about Provisional (AI summary)
The term "provisional" is deployed in literature to evoke a sense of temporariness or an interim state that awaits final confirmation. It is frequently applied to political entities, where a provisional government is established to govern until more stable or permanent institutions can be formed [1, 2, 3]. In narratives, the adjective describes measures or states that are meant to last only for a short period—temporary supplies on a journey [4] or a provisional engagement as an initial, nonbinding step [5]. Meanwhile, in philosophical and scientific contexts, “provisional” qualifies conclusions or classifications that remain tentative, reflecting the inherent uncertainty of early or evolving understandings [6, 7]. This versatility underscores its role in literature as a marker of impermanence and transition across diverse domains.
- If the authorities do not remain, he should create provisional ones of the leading men, and endow them with extraordinary powers.
— from The Art of War by baron de Antoine Henri Jomini - I was begged to make my way back at once, and convey the opinion of the provisional government to the people whose acquaintance I had made.
— from My Life — Volume 1 by Richard Wagner - He was also an active politician, and was a member of the French Provisional Government of 1848.
— from A History of the Nineteenth Century, Year by Year. Volume 2 (of 3) by Edwin Emerson - In the morning, having renewed his provisional supplies, he is off again on his wild and unbeaten route.
— from Roughing It by Mark Twain - There was only a provisional engagement at first.
— from Mark Twain: A Biography. Complete by Albert Bigelow Paine - The only images intrinsically important are the halting-places, the substantive conclusions, provisional or final, of the thought.
— from The Principles of Psychology, Volume 1 (of 2) by William James - This seemed to be true, so long as a genus was imperfectly known, and its species were founded upon a few specimens, that is to say, were provisional.
— from The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection by Charles Darwin
