The allegory of Pluto’s helmet, rendering men invisible and secret, is sufficiently evident of itself; but the mystery of the shield and the mirror lies deeper; and denotes, that not only a prudent caution must be had to defend, like the shield, but also such an address and penetration as may discover the strength, the motions, the counsels, and designs of the enemy; like the mirror of Pallas.
— from Bacon's Essays, and Wisdom of the Ancients by Francis Bacon

And those benevolent noblemen very kindly point out that if Nicodemus Boffin, Esquire, should wish to present two or more purses, it will not be inconsistent with the design of the estimable lady in the West of England, provided each purse be coupled with the name of some member of his honoured and respected family.
— from Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens

p. 60, the striking account of the mother, the empress Helena the Cantacuzene, who, in defiance of the edict, like that of Creon in the Greek tragedy, dug the grave for her murdered children with her own hand, and sank into it herself.—M.] Note 90 ( return ) [ Spondanus (from Gobelin Comment.
— 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

But the year 1747 is distinguished as the epoch, when Johnson's arduous and important work, his DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, was announced to the world, by the publication of its Plan or Prospectus.
— from Boswell's Life of Johnson Abridged and edited, with an introduction by Charles Grosvenor Osgood by James Boswell

After the decease of the elder Leo, he approached with unnatural respect the throne of his son, humbly received, as a gift, the second rank in the empire, and soon excited the public suspicion on the sudden and premature death of his young colleague, whose life could no longer promote the success of his ambition.
— 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

ASH’S (John, LL.D.) New and Complete Dictionary of the English Language, 2 vols.
— from A Dictionary of Slang, Cant, and Vulgar Words Used at the Present Day in the Streets of London; the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge; the Houses of Parliament; the Dens of St. Giles; and the Palaces of St. James. by John Camden Hotten

more, supplied by Jos, this family of four people, attended by a single Irish servant who also did for Clapp and his wife, might manage to live in decent comfort through the year, and hold up their heads yet, and be able to give a friend a dish of tea still, after the storms and disappointments of their early life.
— from Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray

There, after we have drunken and eaten confections and walked a dance or two, each lady betaketh herself to her bedchamber with him at whose instance she hath been brought thither.
— from The Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio by Giovanni Boccaccio

It used to be the doctrine of the English law that natural-born subjects owe an allegiance which is intrinsic and perpetual, and which cannot be divested by any act of their own ( Nemo potest exuere patriam ); but this is no longer the case since the Naturalization Act passed in 1870, A British subject, however, or Page 114
— from The New Gresham Encyclopedia. A to Amide Vol. 1 Part 1 by Various

[1114:1] From Dr. Johnson's Preface to the Dictionary of the English Language .
— from The Complete Poetical Works of Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Vol 2 (of 2) by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

As each head was covered with a wool cap, drawn down over the ears, like his own, he could not make out who they were.
— from A Little Book for Christmas by Cyrus Townsend Brady

Twentieth century dictionary of the English language, unabridged.
— from U.S. Copyright Renewals, 1966 January - June by Library of Congress. Copyright Office

The development of these early liberties, and the progress of the cause of toleration and of true civilization in Spain, were checked by circumstances which would assuredly have acted in a similar way in any other nation.
— from Spain by Wentworth Webster

Pray, sir, what would you say if you were told that the next dictionary of the English language would be written by a Scotsman and a Presbyterian domiciled at Oxford? "
— from Collections and Recollections by George William Erskine Russell

The Best Practical Working Dictionary of the English Language.
— from The poems of Heine; Complete Translated into the original metres; with a sketch of his life by Heinrich Heine

General Douglas of the East Lancs Division is here.
— from Gallipoli Diary, Volume 1 by Ian Hamilton

The following extract of a letter, addressed by Mr. Tazewell, in 1839 to William F. Wickham, Esq., the son and executor of the celebrated John Wickham of Richmond, and written on the death of that eminent lawyer, presents a sketch of his own early youth, not the less attractive as it embraces an interesting period of the youth of Mr. Wickham also: "So much of my life," writes Mr. Tazewell, "was spent in the freest intercourse with your dear father, and during this intercourse mere time effected changes in our relations so gradually and imperceptibly, that, until they were matured into their last state, I was often at a loss to determine what was their true character.
— from Discourse of the Life and Character of the Hon. Littleton Waller Tazewell by Hugh Blair Grigsby