You meet a man begging; you charge him with idleness: he says, "I am willing to labour.
— from Boswell's Life of Johnson Abridged and edited, with an introduction by Charles Grosvenor Osgood by James Boswell

The population may appear by musters, and the number and greatness of cities and towns by cards and maps; but yet there is not anything amongst civil affairs more subject to error than the right valuation and true judgment concerning the power and forces of an estate.
— from Bacon's Essays, and Wisdom of the Ancients by Francis Bacon

For in speaking of them he says, "The deeds of the Athenians, as I think, were very great and magnificent, but yet somewhat less than reported by fame.
— from The City of God, Volume II by Augustine, Saint, Bishop of Hippo

[To the note taker] Really, sir, if you are a detective, you need not begin protecting me against molestation by young women until I ask you.
— from Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw

Then said he, "Happy is this people, on whom God bestows the possession of innumerable good things, and grants them his own providence to be their assistant and their guide; so that there is not any nation among mankind but you will be esteemed superior to them in virtue, and in the earnest prosecution of the best rules of life, and of such as are pure from wickedness, and will leave those rules to your excellent children; and this out of the regard that God bears to you, and the provision of such things for you as may render you happier than any other people under the sun.
— from Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus

You tried to lift your stick against me, but you know, I found that document.
— from The Possessed (The Devils) by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

I have never loved another man but you —promise to take care of the child.”
— from Complete Original Short Stories of Guy De Maupassant by Guy de Maupassant

Demi, go upstairs, and get into your bed, as mamma bids you."
— from Little Women; Or, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy by Louisa May Alcott

To produce a mighty book, you must choose a mighty theme.
— from Moby Dick; Or, The Whale by Herman Melville

If you wear it with the sincere desire to give pleasure to others, and make all the little meetings of life pass off smoothly and agreeably, it will soon cease to be a mask, but you will find that the manner which you at first put on to give pleasure, has become natural to you, and wherever you have {32} assumed a virtue to please others, you will find the virtue becoming habitual and finally natural, and part of yourself.
— from The Gentlemen's Book of Etiquette and Manual of Politeness Being a Complete Guide for a Gentleman's Conduct in All His Relations Towards Society by Cecil B. Hartley

Captain Whipple, a bold Rhode-Islander, who, when a British naval commander threatened by letter to hang him "to the yard-arm" for an offense against the majesty of Great Britain, replied, "Catch a man before you hang him," was in command of the Continental vessel Doria .
— from Harper's Young People, July 13, 1880 An Illustrated Weekly by Various

She had not the heart to refuse her splendid, successful boy anything, and answered warmly... "I'll come, Teddy, rain or shine, and march before you, playing 'Hail the conquering hero comes' on a jew's-harp.
— from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Display and make bright your righteousness and fame, And look at (the fate of)
— from The Shih King, or, Book of Poetry From the Sacred Books of the East Volume 3 by James Legge

I have a duty to my helpless father, Tom, my lad, and I should be playing a very dishonourable part if I took advantage of his position, knowing what I do of his wishes, to arrange a meeting between you and my sister.
— from Nurse Elisia by George Manville Fenn

So, Arthur, my boy, your aunt and cousin will find you quite a different sort of a lad when you come home from your first voyage."
— from The Rival Crusoes; Or, The Ship Wreck Also A Voyage to Norway; and The Fisherman's Cottage. by Agnes Strickland

"Wait just a minute before you push off," she warned.
— from The Boy Scouts of Lakeville High by Leslie W. Quirk

I have often fancied, entre nous, that my sister had it in her eye to make a marriage between you and that little ward of hers—Flora, Laura—what's her name?
— from The History of Pendennis by William Makepeace Thackeray

"You ask me by your letter to Mr. Caritat for a list of my several works, in order to publish a collection of them.
— from The Writings of Thomas Paine — Volume 4 (1794-1796): The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine

"I'll give you twelve dollars a month, but you'll have to make long days."
— from From Canal Boy to President; Or, the Boyhood and Manhood of James A. Garfield by Alger, Horatio, Jr.

I never for a moment believed your assertion that my father died a pauper, and I took immediate steps to disprove it.
— from The Crevice by William J. Burns