In this moment of surprise and in the night, I myself was not free from emotion; but on seeing her I forgot my own situation, and thought of nothing but the melancholy part she would have to act should I suffer myself to be arrested; for feeling I had sufficient courage strictly to adhere to truth, although I might be certain of its being prejudicial or even destructive to me, I was convinced I had not presence of mind, address, nor perhaps firmness enough, not to expose her should I be closely pressed.
— from The Confessions of Jean Jacques Rousseau — Complete by Jean-Jacques Rousseau

To have heard and to have seen Joe Jefferson in "Rip Van Winkle," Richard Mansfield in "The Merchant of Venice," or Edwin Booth or Sir Henry Irving, or Maude Adams, or Julia Marlowe in their best plays, is to have received a deeper insight into human nature, and a stronger purpose to become sympathetic and true, but who can afford to sanction all that is base and villainous is the institution of the modern theater for the sake of learning sympathy and truth and human nature from a few worthy actors, when he may find all of this as truthfully, if not as artistically, set forth by the orator, by the musician, by the painter, and by the author?
— from Questionable Amusements and Worthy Substitutes by J. M. Judy

Never, either before or since, have I seen so handsome a face.
— from The Confession: A Novel by Maksim Gorky

Is a red, green, yellow, and white fruit, sweet, sour, or bitter, be put upon the same tree, each will maintain its characteristics; because, each bud or scion has its own peculiar leaves, from whose laboratory the fruit is sweetened or acidulated and colored with all its hues.
— from Pleasant Talk About Fruits, Flowers and Farming by Henry Ward Beecher

He was responsible also for another novelty, often employed by others since; he increased the height of his swerving lines of dancers, now and again, by mounting some of the figures on stands, and by putting revolving globes and iridescent banners into the hands of the men in the background.
— from A Book About the Theater by Brander Matthews

" I do not believe that ever before or since have I fought so hard a battle.
— from Memories A Record of Personal Experience and Adventure During Four Years of War by Fannie A. Beers

After much solicitation and paying ten shillings, we succeeded in engaging a hall, and had an attendance of about two hundred and fifty persons, probably some of them prompted by curiosity, but we attributed our success in gaining an audience to our earnest prayers to our heavenly Father, so anxious were we to bear our testimonies of the Gospel, and I can truly say that never, either before or since, have I felt so great outpouring of the Holy Spirit as on this occasion, but this proved to be our only chance; so great was the opposition that a place for meeting could not be obtained for love or money.
— from Biography and Family Record of Lorenzo Snow One of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Eliza R. (Eliza Roxey) Snow

This task when effected by ordinary sledge hammers is slow and costly, while with compressed air as a servant capital work is done at much lower expense.
— from Inventors at Work, with Chapters on Discovery by George Iles

Every branch of science had its representative,—an astronomer, botanist, zoologist, ethnologist, &c., were to accompany the Expedition; each section had a number of assistants, the astronomical as many even as nine.
— from Narrative of the Circumnavigation of the Globe by the Austrian Frigate Novara, Volume I (Commodore B. Von Wullerstorf-Urbair,) Undertaken by Order of the Imperial Government in the Years 1857, 1858, & 1859, Under the Immediate Auspices of His I. and R. Highness the Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, Commander-In-Chief of the Austrian Navy. by Scherzer, Karl, Ritter von