On this view of migration, with subsequent modification, we can see why oceanic islands should be inhabited by few species, but of these, that many should be peculiar.
— from On the Origin of Species By Means of Natural Selection Or, the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life by Charles Darwin

And let my first argument to move you to it be taken from what probably some would think reasonable to dissuade you, I mean the constancy and patience of these Jews, even under their ill successes; for it is unbecoming you, who are Romans and my soldiers, who have in peace been taught how to make wars, and who have also been used to conquer in those wars, to be inferior to Jews, either in action of the hand, or in courage of the soul, and this especially when you are at the conclusion of your victory, and are assisted by God himself; for as to our misfortunes, they have been owing to the madness of the Jews, while their sufferings have been owing to your valor, and to the assistance God hath afforded you; for as to the seditions they have been in, and the famine they are under, and the siege they now endure, and the fall of their walls without our engines, what can they all be but demonstrations of God's anger against them, and of his assistance afforded us?
— from The Wars of the Jews; Or, The History of the Destruction of Jerusalem by Flavius Josephus

"The pine's heart is not of a thousand years, nor the morning-glory's of an hour, but only that they may fulfil their destiny."
— from The Religions of Japan, from the Dawn of History to the Era of Méiji by William Elliot Griffis

The Marguerite of the future could alone decide whether she were better off than the Marguerite of the past; whether she would rather be victim to a man, a church, or a machine.
— from The Education of Henry Adams by Henry Adams

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

Of the Christian hierarchy, the bishops of Rome were commonly the most prudent and least fanatic; nor can any positive charge be opposed to the meritorious act of saving or converting the majestic structure of the Pantheon.
— 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

It will be observed that this movement of the French reserve along the whole front was the cause of five victories, neither of which had decisive results, because the attacks were made in front , and because, when the cities were relieved, the allied armies not being cut through, and the French reserve moving on to the different points in succession, none of the victories was pushed to its legitimate consequences.
— from The Art of War by Jomini, Antoine Henri, baron de

It is also to be observed, that the messenger of her letters to her father, who so often pretended business that way, was an implement in his master's hands, and employed by him for that purpose; and always gave her letters first to him, and his master used to open and read them, and then send them on; by which means, as he hints to her, (as she observes in her letter XXX) he was no stranger to what she wrote.
— from Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded by Samuel Richardson

But the word "Mappe" or "Malory" will always mean King Arthur; even though we find older and better origins than the Mabinogian; or write later and worse versions than the "Idylls of the King."
— from Aesop's Fables; a new translation by Aesop

The Ministers of the city of Glasgow considering how much it was the interest of the Church, that well qualified persons be put into the profession of philosophy, and that Universities by this means become most useful seminaries for the Church; and that such as had served as Regents in the college, were ordinarily brought out to the ministry, who, as the Divinity chairs became vacant, were advanced to that honour,—many instances of which I am able to condescend upon, and they knowing that Mr. Binning was eminently pious, and one of a solid judgment, as well as of a bright genius, set upon him to sist himself among the other competitors, but had great difficulty to overcome his modesty.
— from The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning by Hugh Binning

“It is impossible,” said the king in an undertone, “that a gentleman who eats so good a supper every day, and who has such beautiful teeth, can be otherwise than the most straightforward, upright man in my kingdom.”
— from Louise de la Valliere by Alexandre Dumas

The total value of the exports from the United States to foreign countries during the fiscal year is stated and compared with the preceding year as follows: The value of some of our leading exports during the last fiscal year, as compared with the value of the same for the year immediately preceding, is here given, and furnishes information both interesting and suggestive: Our imports during the last fiscal year, as compared with the previous year, were as follows: In my last annual message to the Congress attention was directed to the fact that the revenues of the Government exceeded its actual needs, and it was suggested that legislative action should be taken to relieve the people from the unnecessary burden of taxation thus made apparent.
— from State of the Union Addresses (1790-2006) by United States. Presidents

At its origin each nerve-rudiment lies opposite the median portion of a muscle-plate (figs. G1 and G2 ); but, owing to the muscle-plate acquiring an oblique direction, at the level of the dorsal surface of the notochord it appears in horizontal sections more nearly opposite the interval between two muscle-plates (figs.
— from The Works of Francis Maitland Balfour, Volume 1 (of 4) Separate Memoirs by Francis M. (Francis Maitland) Balfour

"Can it be that M. de la Rochaiguë is really so blind, or that this mistake is due to bad advisers?
— from Pride: One of the Seven Cardinal Sins by Eugène Sue

Or have we chanced upon an eddy in a backwater, opposed to the main stream of advance?
— from The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion (Third Edition, Vol. 08 of 12) by James George Frazer

Accordingly, a design was formed of attacking the Prussian army in the night with a body of twelve thousand men, to be sustained by all the grenadiers, volunteers, pandours, and Hungarian infantry.
— from The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.II. Continued from the Reign of William and Mary to the Death of George II. by T. (Tobias) Smollett

Do you suppose I have been obliged to turn my back upon my country to no purpose?"
— from The Banished: A Swabian Historical Tale by Wilhelm Hauff