He may mean to do well, yet have a passion for building; he may be the very soul of good nature, yet fond of the gaming-table; he may have no wrong propensities of that sort, and yet have a confused notion of accounts, and be one of those men who muddle away a great deal of money, no one knows how; or he may be a too strict economist, a man who takes too good care of the pence, till he tires your very life out about an extra dollar; or he may be facile or weakly good natured, and have a friend who preys on him, and for whom he is disposed to become security.
— 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

She was sorry, really sorry; and yet in spite of this and the two or three other things which she wished he had not said, she thought him altogether improved since she had seen him; he was much more gentle, obliging, and attentive to other people's feelings than he had ever been at Mansfield; she had never seen him so agreeable—so near being agreeable; his behaviour to her father could not offend, and there was something particularly kind and proper in the notice he took of Susan.
— from Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

But, in point of fact, I notice that by far the greater number of historians concern themselves with isolated wars and the incidents that accompany them: while as to a general and comprehensive scheme of events, their date, origin, and catastrophe, no one as far as I know has undertaken to examine it.
— from The Histories of Polybius, Vol. 1 (of 2) by Polybius

It seems to me this outburst of short stories came not only as a phase in literary development, but also as a phase in the development of the individual writers concerned.
— from The Country of the Blind, and Other Stories by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells

That amiable abbe, who had written several comedies in secret, had very poor health and a very small body; he was all wit and gracefulness, famous for his shrewd repartees which, although very cutting, never offended anyone.
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova

Heading of the Filipino-Madrid review “La Solidaridad.” From the Philippines came news of a contemptible attempt to reach Rizal through his family—one of many similar petty persecutions.
— from Lineage, Life and Labors of José Rizal, Philippine Patriot by Austin Craig

And when he saw them wheel their troops within a narrow compass in fruitless disorder, and that they could not open a passage to the enemy, riding back to the van of the legions, after leaping from his horse, he says, "Soldiers, this is the task for us infantry; come on, as ye shall see me making way with my sword, in whatever direction I shall advance into the enemy's line, so let each man, with all his might, beat down those who oppose him.
— from The History of Rome, Books 01 to 08 by Livy

COCTIVUS, soon boiled or roasted COCTOR, cook , which see; same as COQUUS COCULA, same as COQUA , a female cook COCULUM, a cooking vessel COCUS, COQUUS, cook , which see Coelius, name of a person, erroneously attached to that of Apicius; also Caelius, p. 13 COLADIUM, —EDIUM, —ESIUM, —OESIUM, variations of COLOCASIUM , which see Colander, illustration of a, p.
— from Cookery and Dining in Imperial Rome by Apicius

While, miserable greybeards, you, It is true, Contribute nothing of any importance whatever to our needs; But the treasure raised against the Medes You've squandered, and do nothing in return, save that you make Our lives and persons hazardous by some imbecile mistakes What can you answer? Now be careful, don't arouse my spite,
— from Lysistrata by Aristophanes

She could, and did, put her mistress right upon small matters of fact, tactfully refraining from comment, never obtruding advice.
— from Whitewash by Horace Annesley Vachell

It contains exact descriptions of all the rarities of ancient art, and of things Oriental which he had seen, and pages of transcripts from obscure Latin and Greek authors, descriptive of religious ceremonies; varied with Platonic philosophy, Decameronian obscenities, in laboured pseudo-Florentine style, and Dantesque visions, all held together by the confused narrative of an allegorical journey performed by the author.
— from Renaissance Fancies and Studies Being a Sequel to Euphorion by Vernon Lee

And though they conceived all reparable by a resurrection, cast not off all care of enterrment.
— from The Works of Sir Thomas Browne, Volume 3 by Browne, Thomas, Sir

They believe that it provides a canal not only adequate to all demands that will be made upon it but superior in every way to a sea level canal.
— from State of the Union Addresses by Theodore Roosevelt

High officials of all kinds—Frere, Wolseley, Shepstone and Lanyon—had declared that it was an absolute impossibility, and, certainly, no overt attempts were made to obtain it while British troops were present in South Africa in large numbers engaged in crushing the Zulu enemy or the lesser power of the Sekukuni.
— from South Africa and the Boer-British War, Volume I Comprising a History of South Africa and its people, including the war of 1899 and 1900 by J. Castell (John Castell) Hopkins

I would venture to propose to those who are really humane and well-disposed, to employ throughout the capital a certain number of anti-Capuchins and anti-Recollets, to go about from house to house exhorting fathers and mothers to virtue, and to keep their money for the maintenance of their families, and the support of their old age; to love God with all their hearts, but to give none of their money to monks.
— from A Philosophical Dictionary, Volume 09 by Voltaire

[80] Technically they were right, for, as we have seen above, it had hitherto been generally admitted that the pope could not dispense for vows; and when Olivi developed this to the further position that he could not order anything contrary to an evangelical vow, it was not reckoned among his errors condemned by the Council of Vienne.
— from A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages; volume III by Henry Charles Lea

Yet the explanation of this diversity does not, I think, belie the conception which a wide experience had inculcated in my mind—the conception, namely, of a vast mass of elevated country of which a prevailing characteristic is the flatness of its surface.
— from Armenia, Travels and Studies (Volume 2 of 2) The Turkish Provinces by H. F. B. (Harry Finnis Blosse) Lynch

And chief of these, as the first who introduced a rational and verifiable manner of painting, is Giotto Bondone, the pupil of Cimabue, who not only cast on one side the arbitrary forms of representation handed down from the Byzantine artists, but, as we have said, introduced into his pictures the element of natural life, and carrying his reform into the very heart of his subject, adopted for his characters not only appropriate action and natural positions, but made the whole picture tell a story of human life, instead of making it a composition of more or less graceful lines and variegated colours.
— from Giotto by Harry Quilter