There are forty-four other fortresses, which lie concealed amid rugged crags and valleys.
— from The Natural History of Pliny, Volume 1 (of 6) by the Elder Pliny

To see a withered face, a diseased, deformed, cankered complexion, a rotten carcass, a viperous mind, and Epicurean soul set out with orient pearls, jewels, diadems, perfumes, curious elaborate works, as proud of his clothes as a child of his new coats; and a goodly person, of an angel-like divine countenance, a saint, an humble mind, a meet spirit clothed in rags, beg, and now ready to be starved?
— from The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton

We also succeeded in creating a really creditable, and very useful, garden outside the walls, with the help of a native gardener, whom I had sent for from Kacha.
— from Raiders of the Sarhad Being an Account of the Campaign of Arms and Bluff Against the Brigands of the Persian-Baluchi Border during the Great War by R. E. H. (Reginald Edward Harry) Dyer

He stole along the green-stained wall, climbed a rugged corner, and vanished amid the dense foliage.
— from The Last Trail by Zane Grey

15 Such a suite of furniture, in bad condition and requiring careful and very expensive restoration, was sold at Christie's some time ago for about £1,400, and it is no exaggeration to say that a really perfect suite, with carving and gilding of the best, and the tapestry not too much worn, if offered for public competition, would probably realise between £3,000 and £4,000.
— from Illustrated History of Furniture: From the Earliest to the Present Time by Frederick Litchfield

Empires and cities and revolutions come and vanish in the course of a few hours, while Venice alone expands and lives; for the Venice of his dreams is the empress of the seas.
— from The Works of Balzac: A linked index to all Project Gutenberg editions by Honoré de Balzac

Just as alum crystallizes and rock crystal assumes varied and beautiful forms, so ice crystallizes into six-rayed stars.
— from Popular Scientific Recreations in Natural Philosphy, Astronomy, Geology, Chemistry, etc., etc., etc. by Gaston Tissandier