Chesterfield says:— “What is commonly called an absent man, is commonly either a very weak, or a very affected man; but be he which he will, he is, I am sure, a very disagreeable man in company.
— 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

Thus then it happened about the mixing-bowl: but meanwhile Croesus, mistaking the meaning of the oracle, was making a march into Cappadokia, expecting to overthrow Cyrus and the power of the Persians: and while Croesus was preparing to march against the Persians, one of the Lydians, who even before this time was thought to be a wise man but in consequence of this opinion got a very great name for wisdom among the Lydians, had advised Croesus as follows (the name of the man was Sandanis):—"O king, thou art preparing to march against men who wear breeches of leather, and the rest of their clothing is of leather also; and they eat food not such as they desire but such as they can obtain, dwelling in a land which is rugged; and moreover they make no use of wine but drink water; and no figs have they for dessert, nor any other good thing.
— from The History of Herodotus — Volume 1 by Herodotus

The much greater frequency of imitation with insects than with other animals, is probably the consequence of their small size; insects cannot defend themselves, excepting indeed the kinds furnished with a sting, and I have never heard of an instance of such kinds mocking other insects, though they are mocked; insects cannot easily escape by flight from the larger animals which prey on them; therefore, speaking metaphorically, they are reduced, like most weak creatures, to trickery and dissimulation.
— 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

The richest Turkey carpets covered the floor, and the softest and most inviting couches, easy-chairs, and sofas, offered their high-piled and yielding cushions to such as desired repose or refreshment.
— from The Count of Monte Cristo, Illustrated by Alexandre Dumas

I wish some people would trouble themselves only with what belongs to them; they would not, I believe, like to be served so, if it was their own case; for though I am a maid, I can easily believe as how all men are not equally agreeable.
— from History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding

Wà ma maáyu ang masakitun, I called every doctor there was, but the patient did not improve.
— from A Dictionary of Cebuano Visayan by John U. Wolff

Now Justice and Injustice do seem to be used respectively in many senses, but, because the line of demarcation between these is very fine and minute, it commonly escapes notice that they are thus used, and it is not plain and manifest as where the various significations of terms are widely different for in these last the visible difference is great, for instance,
— from The Ethics of Aristotle by Aristotle

They, too, are made in combinations employing cylindrical separators, shaking sieves, and repassing pulpers, for completing the pulping of all unpulped or partially pulped cherries.
— from All About Coffee by William H. (William Harrison) Ukers

He aquí mi inquietud cuál es; It’s the cause of my disquiet, now: por la dueña, en conclusión, on account of the Duenna, my confession, vengo; vos la profesión I’ve come: will you cut short the profession abreviad de doña Inés. of Doña Inés’s vow.
— from Don Juan Tenorio by José Zorrilla

M. Armand Moncharmin, in chapter eleven of his Memoirs, says: "When I think of this first evening, I can not separate the secret confided to us by MM.
— from The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

Geography Madagascar Location: Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Mozambique Geographic coordinates: 20 00 S, 47 00 E Map references: Africa Area: total: 587,040 sq km water: 5,500 sq km land: 581,540 sq km Area - comparative: slightly less than twice the size of Arizona Land boundaries: 0 km Coastline: 4,828 km Maritime claims: 12 NM exclusive economic zone: Climate: tropical along coast, temperate inland, arid in south Terrain: narrow coastal plain, high plateau and mountains in center Elevation extremes: lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Maromokotro 2,876 m Natural resources: graphite, chromite, coal, bauxite, salt, quartz, tar sands, semiprecious stones, mica, fish, hydropower Land use: arable land: 4% permanent crops: 1% other: 95% (1998 est.)
— from The 2002 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency

Her fevered blood was on fire, her foot was burning, her head was hot, and hatred seemed to consume her soul as in a slow fire; she felt as if every wave that broke upon the seawall was calling out to her: “I am cool, I am moist, I can extinguish the flame that is consuming you.
— from The Emperor — Complete by Georg Ebers

This wild horde swept from the plains of Central Asia and, like a whirlwind, overwhelmed the nations of Mesopotamia and Asia Minor; it conquered Egypt, Arabia, and practically all of northern Africa and then poured into Europe, crushed the Balkan nations, occupied a large part of Hungary, and even established the outposts of the Ottoman Empire in the southern part of Russia.
— from Ambassador Morgenthau's Story by Henry Morgenthau

83 S AID busy little JENNY WREN: “I like to live where there are men; I come each year to the same place
— from Bird Children: The Little Playmates of the Flower Children by Elizabeth Gordon

This conjecture, and my inconsolable condition, excited the curiosity of those officers, who began to ask me a thousand questions, with assurances that their king was a generous prince, and that I should receive all comfort in his court.
— from The Arabian Nights, Volume 3 (of 4) by Anonymous

So far as man is concerned, evolution has been merely a zigzag progress up from protoplasm to a problem.
— from Perkins, the Fakeer: A Travesty on Reincarnation His wonderful workings in the cases of "When Reginald was Caroline", "How Chopin came to Remsen", and "Clarissa's troublesome baby" by Edward S. (Edward Sims) Van Zile