N 20° W 2 miles To a Small french Village called La Charatt of five families only, in the bend to the Starbord
— from The Journals of Lewis and Clark, 1804-1806 by William Clark

First, in hearing them apart, you have the advice of every man; but in an Assembly may of them deliver their advise with I, or No, or with their hands, or feet, not moved by their own sense, but by the eloquence of another, or for feare of displeasing some that have spoken, or the whole Assembly, by contradiction; or for feare of appearing duller in apprehension, than those that have applauded the contrary opinion.
— from Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes

So the Geometrician, from the Construction of Figures, findeth out many Properties thereof; and from the Properties, new Ways of their Construction, by Reasoning; to the end to be able to measure Land and Water; and for infinite other uses.
— from Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes

Messengers, Municipal or Legislative, and swift despatches rush off to all corners of France; full of triumph, blended with indignant wail, for Twelve hundred have fallen.
— from The French Revolution: A History by Thomas Carlyle

Our armies only subsist and are kept together by the cement of foreigners; for of Frenchmen there is now no constant and regular army to be made.
— from Essays of Michel de Montaigne — Complete by Michel de Montaigne

And after this we should consider which of the two the soul is, and in the result should either be confident or fearful for our soul."
— from Apology, Crito, and Phaedo of Socrates by Plato

[of the era] of the fruitful Incarnation of the Son of God had attained to the number of one thousand three hundred and forty-eight, when into the notable city of Florence, fair over every other of Italy, there came the death-dealing pestilence, which, through the operation of the heavenly bodies or of our own iniquitous dealings, being sent down upon mankind for our correction by the just wrath of God, had some years before appeared in the parts of the East and after having bereft these latter of an innumerable number of inhabitants, extending without cease from one place to another, had now unhappily spread towards the West.
— from The Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio by Giovanni Boccaccio

A crowd of followers, full of astonishment, Its remains lifted up, and on their shoulders hoisted.
— from Demonology and Devil-lore by Moncure Daniel Conway

The real mitigating causes are, the personal affection which is the growth of time, in so far as the man's nature is susceptible of it, and the woman's character sufficiently congenial with his to excite it; their common interests as regards the children, and their general community of interest as concerns third persons (to which however there are very great limitations); the real importance of the wife to his daily comforts and enjoyments, and the value he consequently attaches to her on his personal account, which, in a man capable of feeling for others, lays the foundation of caring for her on her own; and lastly, the influence naturally acquired over almost all human beings by those near to their persons (if not actually disagreeable to them): who, both by their direct entreaties, and by the insensible contagion of their feelings and dispositions, are often able, unless counteracted by some equally strong personal influence, to obtain a degree of command over the conduct of the superior, altogether excessive and unreasonable.
— from The Subjection of Women by John Stuart Mill

Nothing is more common, my lords, in all naval wars, than sudden changes of fortune; for on many occasions an accidental gust of wind, or unexpected darkness of the weather, may destroy or preserve a fleet from destruction, or may make the most formidable armaments absolutely useless; and in the present disposition of some people towards the ministry, I should not wonder to hear an alteration of wind charged upon them.
— from The Works of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. Volume 10 Parlimentary Debates I by Samuel Johnson

It may be well to remark, in passing, that as the manuscript of this letter of Scotus is still in existence, the claims of Francis founded on handwriting will have to go the same way, for proof on genuine handwriting is doubtful , but proof on disguised handwriting is worthless .
— from Junius Unmasked Or, Thomas Paine the author of the Letters of Junius and the Declaration of Independence by Joel Moody

This Gipsy chief paid little regard to the terrible conditions of his bond, in case of failure; for, on the 10th and 11th August, 1714, “Baillie,” says Hume, “and two of his associates, were convicted and condemned to die; but as far as concerned Baillie, (for the others were executed,) his doom was afterwards mitigated into transportation, under pain of death in case of return.”
— from A History of the Gipsies: with Specimens of the Gipsy Language by Walter Simson

Deftly my love can hook ling and conger, The grey-fish and hake, with the net and the creel, O; Far from our island be plague and be hunger; And sweet our last sleep in the quiet of the Kiel, O. Brave, O brave, my lover true, he’s worth a maiden’s love:
— from Nether Lochaber The Natural History, Legends, and Folk-lore of the West Highlands by Stewart, Alexander, Rev.

Our dinner consisted of fried fish of a small kind, a boiled ham, a fillet of veal, a pair of roast ducks, an almond pudding, currants and gooseberries, which in this country are very fine.
— from Abigail Adams and Her Times by Laura Elizabeth Howe Richards

As Cromwell made his fortune by advising the King to assume the headship of the Church in England, so Cranmer's rise is to be traced to his advice to Henry to appeal to the decision of universities whether or not he could be legally divorced from Catharine, since the Pope—true to the traditions, of the Catholic Church, or from fear of Charles V.—would not grant a dispensation.
— from Beacon Lights of History, Volume 3 part 2: Renaissance and Reformation by John Lord

They ferry people across the stream or convey them wherever they wish to go in the [264] neighborhood, carry light cargoes of fuel, food, or merchandise, deliver packages, and do a thousand and one services of the "odd-job" order.
— from East of Suez Ceylon, India, China and Japan by Frederic Courtland Penfield

Hackles should be selected with much care, of fine fibre, of even taper.
— from Superior Fishing Or, the Striped Bass, Trout, and Black Bass of the Northern States by Robert Barnwell Roosevelt

If you remember, I was doubtful in my last letter as to the chances of further fulfilment of Mother Jericho's prediction.
— from The Gates of Dawn by Fergus Hume

Each squadron consisted of five frigates of thirty-two and forty-four guns each; and, in addition to these, there were continually arriving and departing from Carrick Roads, the outer anchorage of Falmouth, line-of-battle ships and smaller vessels of war; while the prizes taken from the French were constantly brought into the port for adjudication and sale.
— from Cornish Characters and Strange Events by S. (Sabine) Baring-Gould