And as to the learning of compositions committed to writing which are not set to the lyre, whether metrical or without rhythmical divisions, compositions in prose, as they are termed, having no rhythm or harmony—seeing how dangerous are the writings handed down to us by many writers of this class—what will you do with them, O most excellent guardians of the law?
— from Laws by Plato

The evolutionary gestures on the screen held me more raptly than a "movie" plot.
— from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda

And if disease or age or harshness of temper, or all these together, makes a man to be more out of his mind than the rest of the world are—but this is not observable, except to those who live with him—and he, being master of his property, is the ruin of the house, and his son doubts and hesitates about indicting his father for insanity, let the law in that case ordain that he shall first of all go to the eldest guardians of the law and tell them of his father's misfortune, and they shall duly look into the matter, and take counsel as to whether he shall indict him or not.
— from Laws by Plato

If disease, or old age, or evil disposition cause a man to go out of his mind, and he is ruining his house and property, and his son doubts about indicting him for insanity, let him lay the case before the eldest guardians of the law, and consult with them.
— from Laws by Plato

I will ease Gymnast of that trouble, said Panurge, who wanted to be upon the run; you may have occasion for him here.
— from Gargantua and Pantagruel by François Rabelais

And at last asketh their weariness: “Why did we ever go on the way?
— from Thus Spake Zarathustra: A Book for All and None by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

Luckily this time there's nothing else going on that I know of—for of course some of us will have to go.
— from The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

The strong man, who is mighty in the instincts of a strong and healthy organisation, digests his deeds just as well as he digests his meals; he even gets over the effects of heavy fare: in the main, however, he is led by an inviolable and severe instinct which prevents his doing anything which goes against his grain, just as he never does anything against his taste.
— from The Will to Power: An Attempted Transvaluation of All Values. Book III and IV by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

Lord Montreville, happy to find he had really quitted her, was extremely glad of this seasonable journey; which, as the Crofts' assured him Emmeline was on the point of leaving England, would, he thought, prevent his enquiring whither she was gone, and by introducing him into a new set of acquaintance, turn his thoughts to other objects and perfect his cure.
— from Emmeline, the Orphan of the Castle by Charlotte Smith

A moment after, Eusapia gently opens the door, comes up to my wife's toilet-table, opens a drawer, shuts it, and goes away, carefully avoiding making any noise.
— from Mysterious Psychic Forces An Account of the Author's Investigations in Psychical Research, Together with Those of Other European Savants by Camille Flammarion

Mr. President,—When the mariner has been tossed for many days in thick weather, and on an unknown sea, he naturally avails himself of the first pause in the storm, the earliest glance of the sun, to take his latitude, and ascertain how far the elements have driven him from his true course.
— from The Great Speeches and Orations of Daniel Webster With an Essay on Daniel Webster as a Master of English Style by Edwin Percy Whipple

The prime minister, while not admitting that the Monroe doctrine is applicable to present conditions, states: In declaring that the United States would resist any such enterprise if it was contemplated, President Monroe adopted a policy which received the entire sympathy of the English Government of that date.
— from A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents Volume 8, part 2: Grover Cleveland by Grover Cleveland

I see that you at once perceive the extreme gravity of the situation.
— from Her Royal Highness: A Romance of the Chancelleries of Europe by William Le Queux

If a plant is ripening seed, some strength goes to that; if [139] bursting into many blooms, some goes to each of them; if it is trying to hold up against blustering winds, or to thrive on exhausted ground, or to straighten out cramped and clogged roots, these struggles also demand strength.
— from Mary's Meadow, and Other Tales of Fields and Flowers by Juliana Horatia Gatty Ewing

After the preliminary arrangements for letting go had been 286 completed, Mr. Stephenson, and other engineers, got on the tube, with Captain Claxton, R. N., to whom the management of the floating was entrusted.
— from Great Facts A Popular History and Description of the Most Remarkable Inventions During the Present Century by Frederick C. (Frederick Collier) Bakewell

Then she slid into the soft coat Katherine held for her, and while Peggy and Hazel and Myra were still busy patting Mrs. Moore into her things, she moved idly toward the stairs, her eyes glancing over the crowded dining-room as listlessly as if she were not a celebrity at all.
— from Peggy Parsons, a Hampton Freshman by Annabel Sharp