The dictator, or consul, had a right to command the service of the Roman youth; and to punish an obstinate or cowardly disobedience by the most severe and ignominious penalties, by striking the offender out of the list of citizens, by confiscating his property, and by selling his person into slavery.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Table of Contents with links in the HTML file to the two Project Gutenberg editions (12 volumes) by Edward Gibbon

Despising the mob as utterly as did Oliver Cromwell himself, and realizing the supine indifference with which the French people were willing to accept a master, he yet did full justice to the pride with which they resented outside attack, and the enthusiasm with which they faced their foes.
— from Gouverneur Morris by Theodore Roosevelt

Your husband, according to the laws of the District of Columbia, had a right to will away your unborn child."
— from A Modern Madonna by Caroline Abbot Stanley

The whole retinue, escorted by a detachment of cavalry, had already reached the bridge, while Brühl's carriage still stood in the courtyard of the castle.
— from Count Brühl by Józef Ignacy Kraszewski