With slow steps, but with a majestic and sweet countenance, she came forward and sat on my bed; then taking several small boxes from her pocket, she emptied their contents over my head, softly whispering a few words, and after giving utterance to a long speech, not a single word of which I understood, she kissed me and disappeared the same way she had come.
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova

On the revival of learning, the students, who had been formed in the schools of Athens and Rome, disdained their Barbarian ancestors; and a long period elapsed before patient labor could provide the requisite materials to satisfy, or rather to excite, the curiosity of more enlightened times.
— 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

For that reason, women were regarded in the light of beings destined by nature, to serve the pleasures and even the caprices of men.
— from The Satyricon — Complete by Petronius Arbiter

Ahead of the cavalcade marched two men with long poles, which they now and again plunged into the ground before them, the reason of this being that the nature of the soil frequently changed from causes with which I am not acquainted, so that places which might be safe enough to cross one month would certainly swallow the wayfarer the next.
— from She by H. Rider (Henry Rider) Haggard

[Reads] 'Against the Duke of Suffolk, for enclosing the commons of Melford.'
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare

Even the conduct of Maxentius towards the bishops of Rome and Carthage may be considered as the proof of his toleration, since it is probable that the most orthodox princes would adopt the same measures with regard to their established clergy.
— 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

And to both of you, my children, I would merely observe, in the spirit of a sainted wooman on whose path I had the happiness of casting, I believe, SOME ray of light, take care of the establishment, take care of my simple wants, and bless you both!"
— from Bleak House by Charles Dickens

To his credit I must confess that Lauermann surveyed me for a long time with incredulous distrust, and commented with cautious suspicion on my juvenile appearance, but especially on the evidently tenor character of my voice.
— from My Life — Volume 1 by Richard Wagner

The easiest way is to accept any suggestion that seems plausible and thereby bring to an end the condition of mental uneasiness.
— from How We Think by John Dewey

The citizens of Lyons had presumed to shut their gates; they soon implored, and experienced, the clemency of Majorian.
— 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

“I knew I owed him something,” muttered once more the instinctive enmity; and Charlie was curious and excited to come once more in contact with this mysterious personage who had raised so active and sudden an interest in his secret thoughts.
— from The Athelings; or, the Three Gifts. Complete by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant

And Franky paid the bill in plump English sovereigns (invariably exchanged as good for louis of twenty francs by the suave and smiling waiter) and tipped the said waiter extravagantly, and took his hat from the second waiter (who invariably starts up by the side of the first when you are going) and tipped him, and got his stick from the third waiter (who came forward with this, and the en tout cas of Madame—a lovely thing in the latest dome-shape, of black net over jonquil colour, with a flounce, and an ivory stick, upon the top of which sat a green monkey in olivines, eating a ruby fruit), and lighted another cigarette, and returned the elaborate bow of the manager with a nod of the cheerful patronising order as he followed Margot through the Rambler-wreathed archway leading by a flight of shallow steps from Nadier's terrace to the wide carriage-sweep that links the broad Allée de Longchamps with the narrower Route de Madrid.
— from That Which Hath Wings: A Novel of the Day by Richard Dehan

To this Harriet assented, and leaving a message for Chatterton, they entered the coach of Marian, and Pendennyss, mounting the dickey, drove off.
— from Precaution: A Novel by James Fenimore Cooper

Projective Geometry proper, as we saw in Chapter I. , does not employ the conception of magnitude, and does not, therefore, require those axioms which, in the systems of the second or metrical period, were required solely to render possible the application of magnitude to space.
— from An essay on the foundations of geometry by Bertrand Russell

Ever is this the care of the maidens of Zeus, ever the care of minstrels, to sing the Immortals, to sing the praises of noble men.
— from Theocritus, Bion and Moschus, Rendered into English Prose by of Phlossa near Smyrna Bion

These bureaus meet from time to time separately to examine the credentials of members, to give formal consideration to bills which have not yet been referred to a committee, and, most important of all, to select one of their number to serve on each of the committees of the Chamber.
— from The Governments of Europe by Frederic Austin Ogg

Turning his steps to Paris he entered the College of Montaigu, and, if he here was free from the Inquisition he was publicly whipped by the college authorities as a dangerous fanatic.
— from The Age of the Reformation by Preserved Smith

The Christian doctrine of stewardship extends this commandment over much ground which we seldom think of as affected by it.
— from Expositions of Holy Scripture: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers by Alexander Maclaren

'How she talks,' he added, turning to Vicki and thrusting out his underlip with an expression that could only mean disgust.
— from Fräulein Schmidt and Mr. Anstruther by Elizabeth Von Arnim