And it must be observed, that even Prometheus had not the power to free himself, but owed his deliverance to another; for no natural inbred force and fortitude could prove equal to such a task.
— from Bacon's Essays, and Wisdom of the Ancients by Francis Bacon

It was at the feet of his legate that John of England surrendered his crown; and Innocent may boast of the two most signal triumphs over sense and humanity, the establishment of transubstantiation, and the origin of the inquisition.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Table of Contents with links in the HTML file to the two Project Gutenberg editions (12 volumes) by Edward Gibbon

And it may be observed, that some thinkers maintain the proposition discussed in the previous section—that Law ought to aim at securing the greatest possible Freedom for each individual—not as absolute and axiomatic, but as derivative from the [280] principle that Desert ought to be requited; on the ground that the best way of providing for the requital of Desert is to leave men as free as possible to exert themselves for the satisfaction of their own desires, and so to win each his own requital.
— from The Methods of Ethics by Henry Sidgwick

And it may be observed that most Utilitarians, however anxious they have been to convince men of the reasonableness of aiming at happiness generally, have not commonly sought to attain this result by any logical transition from the Egoistic to the Universalistic principle.
— from The Methods of Ethics by Henry Sidgwick

This pattern is repeated through the entire veil; and it must be observed, that as many stitches must be cast on as will make it of the necessary width.
— from The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness A Complete Hand Book for the Use of the Lady in Polite Society by Florence Hartley

ay, it must be owned, the Cote Droit makes a still madder figure.
— from The French Revolution: A History by Thomas Carlyle

I think I have discovered among them uncommon pains taken to display their fine linen, of which, indeed, they have great plenty, their furniture, plate, housekeeping, and variety of wines, in which article, it must be owned, they are profuse, if not prodigal—A burgher of Edinburgh, not content to vie with a citizen of London, who has ten times his fortune, must excel him in the expence as well as elegance of his entertainments.
— from The Expedition of Humphry Clinker by T. (Tobias) Smollett

“Would you set a cloud to chase the wind?” returned the disappointed scout; “I heard the imp brushing over the dry leaves, like a black snake, and blinking a glimpse of him, just over ag'in yon big pine, I pulled as it might be on the scent; but 'twouldn't do!
— from The Last of the Mohicans; A narrative of 1757 by James Fenimore Cooper

Again, it must be observed, that spiritual unhealthiness and misfortunes can generally be traced to excessive love for something which is subject to many variations, and which we can never become masters of.
— from Ethics by Benedictus de Spinoza

In evidence of this dream-theory we have the usual array of cases, "a celebrated journalist, M. R——," "M. L——, a lawyer," etc., etc., as in most books of this kind.
— from The Unseen World, and Other Essays by John Fiske

Fouche had many enemies, and I was not, therefore, surprised to find some of the Ministers endeavouring to take advantage of the difference between his opinion and that of the First Consul; and it must be owned that the utter ignorance of the police respecting this event was a circumstance not very favourable to Fouche.
— from Complete Project Gutenberg Collection of Memoirs of Napoleon by Various

I can account for their success among the lower orders, but when I see an intelligent man brought over to their belief, I confess I am puzzled.
— from The Sheepfold and the Common; Or, Within and Without. Vol. 1 (of 2) by Timothy East

The elegant treatise of Columella describes the advanced state of the Spanish husbandry under the reign of Tiberius; and it may be observed, that those famines, which so frequently afflicted the infant republic, were seldom or never experienced by the extensive empire of Rome.
— from History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 1 by Edward Gibbon

In Nethermuir he had “kept himself to himself,” as far as most of the townsfolk were concerned, and it must be owned, that beyond his own small circle of friends in the manse, and in one or two other houses, he had not been a very popular person.
— from Allison Bain; Or, By a Way She Knew Not by Margaret M. (Margaret Murray) Robertson

The only known infraction of the sacred family tradition occurred when Sir Aldebaran Turmore de Peters-Turmore, an illustrious master burglar of the seventeenth century, personally assisted at a difficult operation undertaken by some of his workmen.
— from The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce, Volume 8 Negligible Tales, On With the Dance, Epigrams by Ambrose Bierce

In other words, if we yield to such arguments it must be on two conditions.
— from The Riddle of the Rhine: Chemical Strategy in Peace and War by Victor Lefebure

Then they can crush all before them like some terrible and irresistible machine; but only then.
— from Beacon Lights of History, Volume 09: European Statesmen by John Lord

and I, might be of that happy and highly favoured number, that shall sing above with the innumerable legions of blessed Angels, the chorus of the victory of a wounded and suffering SAVIOUR.
— from A short account of the extraordinary life and travels of H. L. L.---- native of St. Domingo, now a prisoner of war at Ashbourn, in Derbyshire, shewing the remarkable steps of Divine providence towards him, and the means of his conversion to God by H. L. L.