Literary notes about forestall (AI summary)
The word "forestall" is employed in literature to indicate the act of preempting or averting an event or action before it occurs. In philosophical and political contexts, it is used to suggest thwarting criticism or dissent—Kant, for instance, implies an inability to forestall further critique [1]—while strategic and military writings use it to denote the importance of anticipating enemy moves, as seen in Sunzi’s treatise [2]. In dramatic and narrative texts, characters use forestall as a means to gain the upper hand by preemptively countering rivals or suppressing unwanted outcomes, a tactic noted in Shakespeare's works [3] and Kipling’s narrative strategy [4]. Overall, the term enriches the literary depiction of foresight and tactical intervention across various genres.
- But there are other criticisms which he was less likely to be able to forestall.
— from Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Essay by Immanuel Kant - Should the army forestall you in occupying a pass, do not go after him if the pass is fully garrisoned, but only if it is weakly garrisoned.
— from The Art of War by active 6th century B.C. Sunzi - Much upon this it is; [To BOYET] and might not you Forestall our sport, to make us thus untrue?
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare - 'If I said how I would earn them, another man might hear and forestall me.
— from Kim by Rudyard Kipling
