Unintentionally he exposes organic beings to new and changing conditions of life, and variability ensues; but similar changes of conditions might and do occur under nature.
— from The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection Or, the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life, 6th Edition by Charles Darwin

'Who bears arms against the law?' a constable called out laughingly, as he caught sight of the soldier's sword.
— from Kim by Rudyard Kipling

The military bands play in the centre of it and countless couples of ladies and gentlemen promenade up and down on either side, and platoons of them are constantly drifting away toward the old Cathedral, and by the venerable column with the Winged Lion of St. Mark on its top, and out to where the boats lie moored; and other platoons are as constantly arriving from the gondolas and joining the great throng.
— from The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain

He was shrewd and quick and therefore was not long in finding a clientele composed of litterateurs, artists, actresses, famous lorettes and elegant Bohemians.
— from Repertory of The Comedie Humaine, Complete, A — Z by Anatole Cerfberr

The Jew believes that the world is his by right; he wants to collect his own, and the speediest way of doing so is the destruction of order by revolution—a destruction which is made possible by a long and clever campaign of loose and destructive ideas.
— from The International Jew : The World's Foremost Problem by Anonymous

But they do duty all the same in a certain class of literature as typical of the squalid depravity of the Mormons, for, being inhabited by Mormons, it follows, of course, that several wives, to say nothing of numerous children, have all to sleep together "on the floor of the single room the house contains!" Isn't this a dreadful picture!
— from Sinners and Saints A Tour Across the States and Round Them, with Three Months Among the Mormons by Phil Robinson

As men of several languages say the same things in very different words, so in several ages, countries, constitutions of laws and religion, the same thing seems to be meant by very different expressions; what is called by the Stoics apathy, or dispassion; by the sceptics, indisturbance; by the Molinists, quietism; by common men, peace of conscience,—seems all to mean but great tranquillity of mind....
— from Henry Esmond; The English Humourists; The Four Georges by William Makepeace Thackeray

Beyond the jackpine more crushed moss and broken bushes and trampled undergrowth showed plainly that someone, more than one man probably, had gone that way not many hours before, had gone boldly and confidently, careless of leaving a trail.
— from The Secret Cache: An Adventure and Mystery Story for Boys by Ethel C. (Ethel Claire) Brill

So, too, while the earliest charter was granted to an English town in the twelfth century, [1495] we find, in Spain, a charter conferred on Leon as early as 1020; and in the course of the eleventh century the enfranchisement of towns was as secure as laws could make it.
— from History of Civilization in England, Vol. 2 of 3 by Henry Thomas Buckle

Sudden bowed the chestnuts beneath a wind unheard, Lengthened ran the grasses, the sky grew slate: Then amid a swift flight of winged seed white as curd, Clear of limb a Youth smote the master’s gate.
— from Poems — Volume 2 by George Meredith

The jewel was supported on a delicate spring which vibrated with each step upon the floor, so that there was a constant coruscation of light around it.
— from Stories About Famous Precious Stones by Adela E. (Adela Elizabeth Richards) Orpen

Many lovely women were with the party—one in particular; it was a clear case of love at first sight on my side, and spontaneous indifference on hers.
— from The White Rose of Memphis by William C. (Clark) Falkner

The moment she began to speak, a change came over Leroux' attitude.
— from A Sheaf of Bluebells by Orczy, Emmuska Orczy, Baroness

The ill-tempered vulgarity that instinctively strikes at and hurts a thing that annoys it (and all children are annoying), and the simple stupidity that requires from a child perfection beyond the reach of the wisest and best adults (perfect truthfulness coupled with perfect obedience is quite a common condition of leaving a child unwhipped), produce a good deal of flagellation among people who not only do not lust after it, but who hit the harder because they are angry at having to perform an uncomfortable duty.
— from The Doctor's Dilemma: Preface on Doctors by Bernard Shaw