He looked, and saw wide territory spread Before him, towns, and rural works between; Cities of men with lofty gates and towers, Concourse in arms, fierce faces threatening war, Giants of mighty bone and bold emprise; Part wield their arms, part curb the foaming steed, Single or in array of battle ranged Both horse and foot, nor idly mustering stood; One way a band select from forage drives A herd of beeves, fair oxen and fair kine, From a fat meadow ground; or fleecy flock, Ewes and their bleating lambs over the plain, Their booty; scarce with life the shepherds fly, But call in aid, which makes a bloody fray; With cruel tournament the squadrons join; Where cattle pastured late, now scattered lies With carcasses and arms the ensanguined field, Deserted: Others to a city strong Lay siege, encamped; by battery, scale, and mine, Assaulting; others from the wall defend With dart and javelin, stones, and sulphurous fire; On each hand slaughter, and gigantick deeds.
— from Paradise Lost by John Milton

Quakers being charmed by a string about their wrists Rabbit not half roasted, which made me angry with my wife Railed bitterly ever and anon against John Calvin Reading my Latin grammar, which I perceive I have great need Reckon nothing money but when it is in the bank Resolve to live well and die a beggar Sad for want of my wife, whom I love with all my heart Saw his people go up and down louseing themselves Scholler, that would needs put in his discourse (every occasion) Scholler, but, it may be, thinks himself to be too much
— from The Diary of Samuel Pepys — Complete by Samuel Pepys

My Dubovki, Sofyino, and Kiryakovo have all been sold for my unhappy husband’s debts.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of 233 Short Stories of Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

“You are benumbed,” said Fauchelevent.
— from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

They do not per ceive that the society of God or Nature is an ideal society, nor that these phantoms, looming in their imagination, are but significant figments whose existent basis is a minute and indefinite series of ordinary perceptions.
— from The Life of Reason: The Phases of Human Progress by George Santayana

A few days at Dresden in the spring weather satisfied them that Dresden was a better spot for general education than Berlin, and equally good for reading Civil Law.
— from The Education of Henry Adams by Henry Adams

tuásik v [A2S3; b6] spatter, for little things to fall in all directions.
— from A Dictionary of Cebuano Visayan by John U. Wolff

There are broad steps from the stage to the hall; on either side of these steps are the places for the violinists.
— from Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand

And as the moon who first receives the light, With which she makes these nether regions bright, So does he shine, reflecting from afar The rays he borrowed from a better star; For rules, which from Corneille and Rapin flow, Admired by all the scribbling herd below, From French tradition while he does dispense Unerring truths, 't is schism, a damned offense, To question his, or trust your private sense.
— from All About Coffee by William H. (William Harrison) Ukers

But such measures as carrying out the arrangements for a battle, so far as to impose upon the enemy, require a considerable expenditure of time and power; of course, the greater the impression to be made, the greater the expenditure in these respects.
— from On War — Volume 1 by Carl von Clausewitz

He who has stolen shall again be stolen from."
— from Algic Researches, Comprising Inquiries Respecting the Mental Characteristics of the North American Indians, First Series. Indian Tales and Legends, Vol. 2 of 2 by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft

When it meant anybody who could read and write, and anybody who had committed a murder had only to say, "I can read and write," and be set free, it led to an extraordinary state of things.
— from Popular Law-making A study of the origin, history, and present tendencies of law-making by statute by Frederic Jesup Stimson

The idea that the blood of the martyrs penetrated into the neighboring tombs, and its spiritual signification, that the merits of their sufferings, and their intercession, invoked by the living, would be salutary to the dead, are beautifully shown forth in the epigram of St. Ambrose on the tomb of his brother Satirus, who was buried in Milan, side by side with the martyr St. Victor: 0584.png
— from The Catholic World, Vol. 23, April, 1876-September, 1876. A Monthly Magazine of General Literature and Science by Various

Amélie said with a grin next morning, "Eh, bien, only one thing is needed to complete our experiences—that a bomb should fall shy of its aim—the railroad down there—and wipe Huiry off the map, and write it in history."
— from On the Edge of the War Zone From the Battle of the Marne to the Entrance of the Stars and Stripes by Mildred Aldrich

Here the air was always fresh and cool, and the winds, without a tree or house to obstruct them, had a bold, strong, frolicsome sweep, as though glad to be free of both forest and town.
— from Stories and Legends of Travel and History, for Children by Grace Greenwood

“It comes to this: without your knowledge, without any suspicion on your part, these three unscrupulous men—Snitterfield, Gridley and the inspector of nuisances—aided and abetted by small farmers, who dreaded an increase of rates, have formed a sort of ring.
— from Whitewash by Horace Annesley Vachell

From the depths below giant ferns sent up cool, damp odors, and we could hear the splash and ripple of running water, and at times, by looking into the valley, I could see waterfalls and broad streams filled with rocks, which churned the water into a white foam.
— from Captain Macklin: His Memoirs by Richard Harding Davis

I went down and took a drink at the spring which, embowered by trees and bushes, sparkles forth from the rocky brink of the river; and rambled away to Rokeby.
— from A Month in Yorkshire by Walter White