One would have said that some other church had despatched to the assault of Notre-Dame its gorgons, its dogs, its drées, its demons, its most fantastic sculptures.
— from Notre-Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo

The Prussians established a similar reserve in 1806 at Halle, but it was badly posted: if it had been established upon the Elbe at Wittenberg or Dessau, and had done its duty, it might have saved the army by giving Prince Hohenlohe and Blücher time to reach Berlin, or at least Stettin.
— from The Art of War by Jomini, Antoine Henri, baron de

= KEY: Mar. SYN: Spoil, hurt, damage, injure, defeat, impair, maim, deform.
— from A Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms or, Synonyms and Words of Opposite Meaning by Samuel Fallows

Dark, intellectually dark, indeed, must be that mind, and sunk, sorrowfully sunk in superstition, that can worship a being as the great omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent "I AM," who possessed all those qualities which were constitutionally characteristic of the pious, the noble, the devout, the Godlike, yet finite and fallible Jesus, according to his own admissions and the representations of his own interested biographers.
— from The World's Sixteen Crucified Saviors; Or, Christianity Before Christ by Kersey Graves

This result, this light which God caused to shine in my darkness, I deem it my unrelenting duty to communicate to others yet living in darkness, because the Lord Himself says that we should not put our light under a bushel.
— from Some Jewish Witnesses For Christ by Aaron Bernstein

What difference, indeed, does it make to most of us whether we have or have not a theory of the Röntgen rays, whether we believe or not in mind-stuff, or have a conviction about the causality of conscious states?
— from The Will to Believe, and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy by William James

After dinner, I desired in my turn to know the particulars of his peregrination, and he satisfied me in a few words, by giving me to understand that he had lived a year at Paris with his master, who, in that time having acquired the language, as well as the fashionable exercises to perfection, made a tour of France and Holland, during which excursion he was so unfortunate as to meet with three of his own countrymen on their travels, in whose company he committed such excesses, that his constitution failed, and he fell into a consumption; that by the advice of physicians, he went to Montpelier for the benefit of good air, and recovered so well in six weeks, that he returned to Rheims seemingly in good health, where he had not continued above a month, when he was seized with a looseness that carried him off in ten days, to the unspeakable sorrow of all who knew him and especially of Strap, who had been very happy in his service, and given such satisfaction, that his master, on his death-bed recommended him to several persons of distinction for his diligence, sobriety, and affection, and left him by will his wearing apparel, gold watch, sword, rings, ready money, and all the moveables he had in France, to the value of three hundred pounds “which I now,” said he, “in the sight of God and man, surrender to your absolute disposal: here are my keys; take them, I beseech you, and God give you joy of the possession.”
— from The Adventures of Roderick Random by T. (Tobias) Smollett

he kept exclaiming with hysterical delight; insolent delight it might have been called, if it had not been so spontaneous.
— from The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

The following graphic and amusing letter from one of the correspondents of the Field newspaper shows how the salamander is still regarded in rural France:— “Returning homeward a few evenings ago from a country walk in the environs of D——, I discovered in my path a strange-looking reptile, which, after regarding me steadfastly for a few moments, walked slowly to the side of the road, and commenced very deliberately clambering up the wall.
— from Myth-Land by F. Edward (Frederick Edward) Hulme

I endeavoured to excuse Mr. Pain in some things relating thereto, by saying it was good sense in changing his ground when any party was going wrong,—and that he seemed to delight in difficulties, in Mechanics particularly, and was pleased in them.
— from The Life Of Thomas Paine, Vol. 2. (of 2) With A History of His Literary, Political and Religious Career in America France, and England by Moncure Daniel Conway

His Holiness is a man of great good sense, and it will naturally occur to him that while reasonable church discipline is desirable it may be enforced without flagrantly insulting the millions of very worthy people who decline to accept his dogma. *
— from The Complete Works of Brann, the Iconoclast — Volume 10 by William Cowper Brann

"I dreamt I dwelt in marble halls."
— from The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun; containing a collection of over one thousand of the most laughable sayings and jokes of celebrated wits and humorists. by Various

Involvement of such parts cause manifestations of lameness but the matter of establishing a diagnosis is difficult in many instances and in some cases impossible.
— from Lameness of the Horse Veterinary Practitioners' Series, No. 1 by John Victor Lacroix

If this is not quite "fair," then less damage is done in moving one tube slightly up or down to get the contact exact.
— from On Laboratory Arts by Richard Threlfall

"Fare thee well, good fool," said he, "I leave thee to thy dreams; God send they be ever fair—" "Gold!" cried the jester, spinning the coin upon his thumb, "ha, now do I dream indeed; may thy waking be ever as joyous.
— from Beltane the Smith by Jeffery Farnol

Listen: To-night I kneeled down in darkness in my room, and prayed that the soul of my Iowaka might come to me.
— from God's Country—And the Woman by James Oliver Curwood