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Literary notes about enabling (AI summary)

In literature, the word "enabling" is frequently employed to mark the cause-and-effect relationship where a preceding condition or event prepares the way for another action or outcome. In narrative passages, it often sets the stage for subsequent developments, such as when favorable weather allowed repair efforts to commence ([1]) or when a shift in tide permitted a maneuver at sea ([2]). In legal and political contexts, it can denote acts that empower decisions or confer authority, as seen in references to legislative measures ([3], [4]). Meanwhile, in scientific or technical writings, it indicates conditions that facilitate certain processes, like the drying of mud that allows tents to be pitched or mechanisms that afford operational flexibility ([5], [6]). Whether describing physical phenomena, emotional catalysts, or institutional power, "enabling" consistently functions to highlight the essential precondition for further progress.
  1. After many days the weather moderated a little and cleared up, enabling Master Trench to repair damages and shape his course for Norway.
    — from The Crew of the Water Wagtail by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne
  2. The engaged ships had naturally lost to leeward, thus enabling Ruyter to fetch up with them.
    — from The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783 by A. T. Mahan
  3. Report from Washington says it is probable an enabling act will pass.
    — from History of the Impeachment of Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, by the House of Representatives, and his trial by the Senate for high crimes and misdemeanors in office, 1868 by Edmund G. (Edmund Gibson) Ross
  4. V 1080 *3387-PS Hitler Reichstag speech, 23 March 1933, asking for adoption of Enabling Act, from Voelkischer Beobachter, 24 March 1933, p. 1.
    — from Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression (Vol. I) by United States. Office of Chief of Counsel for the Prosecution of Axis Criminality
  5. The high tides were over for a month, and the mud began to dry, enabling the party to pitch their tents.
    — from The Romance of the Colorado River The Story of its Discovery in 1840, with an Account of the Later Explorations, and with Special Reference to the Voyages of Powell through the Line of the Great Canyons by Frederick Samuel Dellenbaugh
  6. A peculiarity of the four motion feeder in Wheeler & Wilson's machine is an arrangement enabling the operator to feed in either direction at will.
    — from Scientific American Supplement, No. 598, June 18, 1887 by Various

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