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n. A fixed decree by which the order of things is prescribed; the immutable law of the universe; inevitable necessity; the force by which all existence is determined and conditioned. Inevitability; destiny. Appointed lot; allotted life; arranged or predetermined event; destiny; especially, the final lot; doom; ruin; death. The element of chance in the affairs of life; the unforeseen and un-estimated conditions considered as a force shaping events; fortune; esp., opposing circumstances against which it is useless to struggle; as, fate was, or the fates were, against him. pl.
- (Myth.) The three goddesses, Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos, sometimes called the Destinies, or Parcæ who were supposed to determine the course of human life. They are represented, one as holding the distaff, a second as spinning, and the third as cutting off the thread. Among all nations, it has been common to speak of fate or destiny as a power superior to gods and men - swaying all things irresistibly. This may be called the fate of poets and mythologists. Philosophical fate is the sum of the laws of the universe, the product of eternal intelligence and the blind properties of matter. Theological fate represents Deity ...
