The time shall come, when, chased along the plain, Even thou shalt call on Jove, and call in vain; Even thou shalt wish, to aid thy desperate course, [pg 252]
— from The Iliad by Homer

So near the sun, it would be exposed to a heat 27,500 times greater than that received by the earth; and as the sun’s heat is supposed to be in proportion to the intensity of his light, it is probable that a degree of heat so intense would be sufficient to convert into vapour every terrestrial substance with which we are acquainted.
— from On the Connexion of the Physical Sciences by Mary Somerville

The cavalry in vain endeavoured to swim the river.
— from With Frederick the Great: A Story of the Seven Years' War by G. A. (George Alfred) Henty

10 This night, distinguish'd by your smiles, shall tell That never Briton can in vain excel: The slightest arts futurity shall trust, And rising ages hasten to be just.
— from Poetical Works of Johnson, Parnell, Gray, and Smollett With Memoirs, Critical Dissertations, and Explanatory Notes by Thomas Gray

By degrees, they gradually got within a fair range of about eighty yards—for, although long-distance shooting may be very nice as a test of shooting at the Wimbledon targets, it is quite a different matter when your dinner depends on the success of your shot; for, with that consideration in view, even the surest of marksmen likes to get within easy reach of his game.
— from Picked up at Sea The Gold Miners of Minturne Creek by John C. (John Conroy) Hutcheson

We believe that some who oppose, or fear, or denounce our movement are themselves caught in various eddies that set back against the truth.
— from The Works of Oliver Wendell Holmes: An Index of the Project Gutenberg Editions by Oliver Wendell Holmes

The bill of fare provided by the Biograph Company is varied enough to suit the most fastidious taste.
— from The Romance of Modern Invention Containing Interesting Descriptions in Non-technical Language of Wireless Telegraphy, Liquid Air, Modern Artillery, Submarines, Dirigible Torpedoes, Solar Motors, Airships, &c. &c. by Archibald Williams

The captain in vain endeavoured to soothe and calm him.
— from Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 64, No. 398, December 1848 by Various

St. Clair in vain endeavored to stem the torrent of the rout.
— from Famous Indian Chiefs Their Battles, Treaties, Sieges, and Struggles with the Whites for the Possession of America by Charles H. L. (Charles Haven Ladd) Johnston

Though mainly an inland species, having a fondness for ponds, lakes and fresh-water streams, yet it does not confine its visits exclusively to such resorts, but forsakes them during very cold weather for the seashore, where it can pursue its calling untrammeled by the accidents of winter, which are more certain to affect fresh than salt waters.
— from Nests and Eggs of Birds of the United States Illustrated by Thomas G. (Thomas George) Gentry