render difficult &c. adj.; enmesh, encumber, embarrass, ravel, entangle; put a spoke in the wheel &c. (hinder) 706; lead a pretty dance.
— from Roget's Thesaurus by Peter Mark Roget

“Ah, very well, very well,” said the major, clutching the buttons of his coat at each exclamation.
— from The Count of Monte Cristo, Illustrated by Alexandre Dumas

I believe it may safely be established for a general maxim, that no object is presented to the senses, nor image formed in the fancy, but what is accompanyed with some emotion or movement of spirits proportioned to it; and however custom may make us insensible of this sensation and cause us to confound it with the object or idea, it will be easy, by careful and exact experiments, to separate and distinguish them.
— from A Treatise of Human Nature by David Hume

If now we compare our formal supreme principle of pure practical reason (that of autonomy of the will) with all previous material principles of morality, we can exhibit them all in a table in which all possible cases are exhausted, except the one formal principle; and thus we can show visibly that it is vain to look for any other principle than that now proposed.
— from The Critique of Practical Reason by Immanuel Kant

The capital of Syria was protected by the River Orontes; and the iron bridge, 891 of nine arches, derives its name from the massy gates of the two towers which are constructed at either end.
— 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

Para mayor seguridad de su persona, o para cubrir el expediente, no ponía los pies en su casa, apenas entraba en la de doña Perfecta para tratar de asuntos importantes, y solía cenar en casa de este o del otro amigo, prefiriendo siempre el respetado domicilio de 30 algún sacerdote, y principalmente el de don Inocencio, donde recibiera asilo en la mañana funesta de las prisiones.
— from Doña Perfecta by Benito Pérez Galdós

; a spirit of independence carried to some degree of enthusiasm; an inquisitive character to discover, and a bold one to display, every corruption and every error of government; these are the qualities which recommend a man to a seat in the House of Commons, in open and merely popular elections.
— from The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Vol. 01 (of 12) by Edmund Burke

The third day I put it off till evening, and then copied an elaborate editorial out of the “American Cyclopedia,” that steadfast friend of the editor, all over this land.
— from Roughing It by Mark Twain

This would have been a method of escaping from that complete and eternal equality which seems to threaten democratic society.
— from Democracy in America — Volume 2 by Alexis de Tocqueville

[535] ‘Mais mon advis est que cela ne se fait que par disposition divine; car quand les princes ou royaumes out esté en grande prospérité ou richesses, et ils ont mesconnoissance dont procède telle grâce, Dieu leur dresse un ennemi ou ennemie, dont nul ne se douteroit, comme vous pouvez voir par les rois nommez en la Bible, et par ce que puis peu d'années en avez veu en cette Angleterre, et en cette
— from History of Civilization in England, Vol. 1 of 3 by Henry Thomas Buckle

Ellis was called upon with the rest; for in the name of Miss Ellis, and for the sake and the benefit of Miss Ellis, all the orders were given, all the measures were taken, and all the money was to be raised: yet in no one point had Ellis been consulted; and she would hardly have known that a scheme which owed to her its name, character, and even existence, was in agitation, but from the diligence with which Miss Arbe ordered the restoration of the harp; and from the leisure which that lady now found, in the midst of her hurries, for resuming her lessons.
— from The Wanderer; or, Female Difficulties (Volume 2 of 5) by Fanny Burney

He was amusing, and rather clever, and Emma enjoyed listening to him.
— from The Younger Sister: A Novel, Volumes 1-3 by Mrs. (Catherine-Anne Austen) Hubback

But provided I kept clear of Barkingham, it was all the same to me what part of the United Kingdom I went to; and, in the absence of any actual clew to her place of residence, there was consolation and encouragement even in following an imaginary trace.
— from A Rogue's Life by Wilkie Collins

It was not fitting for me to contract an eternal engagement; and it will never be proved to me that my duty binds me to it.
— from Rousseau (Volume 1 and 2) by John Morley

The economic waste of slavery, its corrupting and enervating effect upon the whites, were thought to be objections quite as serious.
— from Martin Van Buren by Edward Morse Shepard

If ever we caught an eye exposed it was quickly hidden from our contaminating Christian vision; the beggars actually passed us by without demanding bucksheesh; the merchants in the bazaars did not hold up their goods and cry out eagerly, “Hey, John!”
— from The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain

She considered and examined every thing with great attention, and dived, I do not know how, into the real cause of my illness.
— from The Arabian Nights Entertainments - Volume 01 by Anonymous

It can also endure extreme summer heat, since it thrives well in some parts of Texas.
— from Clovers and How to Grow Them by Thomas Shaw