Literary notes about parochial (AI summary)
"Parochial" is employed in literature to denote matters that are local, specific, and closely tied to the routines and obligations of a community—often with a church or school at its core. Authors use the term to evoke a sense of modest, dedicated service, as seen in references to clerical duties and the operation of local schools ([1], [2], [3]), while contrasting these practices with broader, more universal ideals ([4], [5]). At times, the adjective conveys a critique of narrow-mindedness or provincialism, suggesting an insular perspective that limits one’s vision ([6], [7]). This layered usage enriches the narrative by highlighting both the virtue and potential limitations of community-bound existence.
- Soon after he took orders, and engaged in parochial work, until 1879, after which he retired, until his much lamented death on January 30th, 1904.
— from Some Jewish Witnesses For Christ by Aaron Bernstein - Parochial school system of Scotland, review of the, 567.
— from Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 404, June, 1849 by Various - On glancing at the address, the parochial functionary observed that it contained no name.
— from Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens - The words we now address to the unseen powers may be vague and universal, but the words they are said to address to us are parochial and even private.
— from The New Jerusalem by G. K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton - So there was no space in my parochial mind for international issues and rumours of wars.
— from Tell EnglandA Study in a Generation by Ernest Raymond - Every marriage to be warranted and sanctioned by a certain number of good men and true, of the parish, as a parochial obligation.
— from The Will to Power: An Attempted Transvaluation of All Values. Book III and IV by Nietzsche - The rural society focused on the family and the community; its outlook was parochial.
— from Area Handbook for Bulgaria by Eugene K. Keefe
