Thus, by his own actions, Lycurgus showed, that it was difficult to correct the government without force and fear; in using which, he said, he would be so moderate, as never to desire their assistance, but either to terrify or ruin the enemies of Sparta's happiness and safety."
— from Dryden's Works Vol. 08 (of 18) by John Dryden

Sometimes, as in the case of the celebrated Lilly Dale, the public tolerates a bold exception to the ordinary rule, on account of the extreme piquancy of the thing; but no wise novelist ventures habitually to disregard the prevalent opinion that the heroine's mission is to become a wife before the end of the third volume.
— from Modern Women and What is Said of Them A Reprint of A Series of Articles in the Saturday Review (1868) by E. Lynn (Elizabeth Lynn) Linton