When Icilius heard that tribunes of the soldiers were elected on Mount Aventine, lest the election-assembly in the city might follow the precedent of the military assembly, by electing the same persons tribunes of the commons, being well versed in popular intrigues and having an eye to that office, he also takes care, before they proceeded to the city, that the same number be elected by his own party with an equal power.
— from The History of Rome, Books 01 to 08 by Livy

Now therefore my opinion is, that as soon as night comes on, we kindle the camp-fires as we are wont to do at other times also, and deceive with a false tale those of our men who are weakest to endure hardships, and tie up all the asses and get us away, before either the Scythians make for the Ister to destroy the bridge or something be resolved by the Ionians which may be our ruin.
— from The History of Herodotus — Volume 1 by Herodotus

And o'er the blank of sleep diffuse a bloom: Evoke the sacred shades of Greece and Rome, And let them virtue with a look impart; But chief, awhile, O! lend us from the tomb Those long-lost friends for whom in love we smart, and fill with pious awe and joy-mixt woe the heart.
— from The Lady of the Lake by Walter Scott

It was a bright evening, the sun was setting, and the whole room was lighted up.
— from The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

“I swear to you,” replied Phoebus, somewhat embarrassed by the question, “that you are beautiful enough to set an archbishop to dreaming.”
— from Notre-Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo

With regard to paternal authority, from which some writers have derived absolute government and all society, it is enough, without going back to the contrary arguments of Locke and Sidney, to remark that nothing on earth can be further from the ferocious spirit of despotism than the mildness of that authority which looks more to the advantage of him who obeys than to that of him who commands; that, by the law of nature, the father is the child's master no longer than his help is necessary; that from that time they are both equal, the son being perfectly independent of the father, and owing him only respect and not obedience.
— from The Social Contract & Discourses by Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Of course to have such a character would in no way spoil matrimonial chances, or do anything but enhance the social status of a woman.
— from Argonauts of the Western Pacific An Account of Native Enterprise and Adventure in the Archipelagoes of Melanesian New Guinea by Bronislaw Malinowski

With lolling tongue and blinking eyes, Toby stood upon the cask, looking from one to the other of us for some sign of appreciation.
— from The Sign of the Four by Arthur Conan Doyle

Shrinking involuntarily before the bold appraising looks with which the man surveyed her face and figure, Cicely nevertheless answered bravely enough that she possessed certain information concerning a rebel, but could confide her knowledge to none save Lord Jeffreys himself.
— from Barbara Winslow, Rebel by Beth Ellis

I was not sure then if Inglethorp was the criminal or not, but if he was I reasoned that he would not have the paper on him, but would have hidden it somewhere, and by enlisting the sympathy of the household I could effectually prevent his destroying it.
— from The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie

It was a better excuse than some, but still it was not a justifiable excuse for a man who needed all his energies.
— from The Wall Street Girl by Frederick Orin Bartlett

By and by even the shadow deserted him and he trudged along the country road following a vague impression that somewhere around the foot of the mountain Monsieur lived.
— from Captain June by Alice Caldwell Hegan Rice

Just as the keen golfer delights in the skilful use of eye and limb, and is exhilarated by the difficulties and the physical exertion of the game, so the keen reader of a book enjoys the strenuous mental exercise it affords him.
— from Personality in Literature by R. A. (Rolfe Arnold) Scott-James

Even then, though she still saw his face raised to 77 hers, the raindrops glistening on his hair and beard, even though she still heard the fervor of his voice, she remained incredulous before the enigma of his totally unexpected words.
— from The Squirrel-Cage by Dorothy Canfield Fisher

" Life Histories of Northern Animals ", by Ernest T. Seton (Charles Scribner's Sons, 2 volumes, $18), contains carefully written and valuable chapters on fox farming, skunk farming, marten farming, and mink farming, and other valuable life histories of the fur-bearing animals of North America.
— from Our Vanishing Wild Life: Its Extermination and Preservation by William T. (William Temple) Hornaday

I had marched and counter-marched with him: I had stood by him in the wars, and fought under his flag at the polls: I helped to heap the measure of glory that has crushed and smashed everything that has come in contact with it: I helped to give him the name of 'Hero,' which, like the lightning from heaven, has scorched and blasted everything that stood in its way—a name which, like the prairie fire, you have to burn against, or you are gone—a name which ought to be the first in war, and the last in peace—a name which, like 'Jack-o'-the lantern, blinds your eyes while you follow it through mud and mire.
— from David Crockett: His Life and Adventures by John S. C. (John Stevens Cabot) Abbott

"An express covenant is entered into betwixt a witch and the devil appearing in some visible shape, whereby the former renounces his God and baptism, engaging to serve the devil, and do all the mischief he can, as occasion offers, and leaves soul and body to his disposal after death.
— from The Mysteries of All Nations Rise and Progress of Superstition, Laws Against and Trials of Witches, Ancient and Modern Delusions Together with Strange Customs, Fables, and Tales by James (Archaeologist) Grant