through the agency of

In many countries the observance of Christmas stretches into January, culminating on Epiphany, Jan. 6, when Jesus Christ was said to have been revealed to the world through the agency of the Magi, the three kings.

Eugenicist and racist Madison Grant wrote in 1922 that he suspected the personal qualities he admired among “Nordic” people—“vigor and power”—had come about because they lived in the cold: “The climactic conditions much have been such as to impose a rigid elimination of defectives through the agency of hard winters and the necessity of industry and foresight in providing the year’s food, clothing, and shelter during the short summer.”

Businesses that collect room and meal taxes or sales and use taxes may apply through the Tax Department while others may apply through the Agency of Commerce and Community Development, officials said.

By fire-hosing conspiracy-minded content inside Facebook groups, or through the agency of trusted celebrities, anti-vaxxers, too, are turning misinformed people, dealing with enormous psychological pressure, against health experts and science itself.

Time travel has always existed through the agency of the Machines, five mysterious devices situated at various points around the world since the Cambrian era, which allow travellers to make small changes to history that will affect the future.