What ruins the case for inconstancy is that all fools range themselves on that side from lack of courage. — from On Love by Stendhal
founder lord Of Cynthus
And breathing forms of Parian marble there Shall stand, the offspring of Assaracus, And great names of the Jove-descended folk, And father Tros, and Troy's first founder, lord Of Cynthus. — from The Georgics by Virgil
You see it's most out of the way of the masters, who all live on the other side, and don't come by here after first lesson or callings-over. — from Tom Brown's School Days by Thomas Hughes
for lines of columns
The checkerwise formation is only advantageous for infantry in preparatory movements before reaching the enemy, or else for lines of columns which can defend themselves in every direction against cavalry. — from The Art of War by Jomini, Antoine Henri, baron de
fine language of Corneille
This vast design of Gibbon, the magnificent whole into which he has cast the decay and ruin of the ancient civilization, the formation and birth of the new order of things, will of itself, independent of the laborious execution of his immense plan, render "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" an unapproachable subject to the future historian:* in the eloquent language of his recent French editor, M. Guizot:— "The gradual decline of the most extraordinary dominion which has ever invaded and oppressed the world; the fall of that immense empire, erected on the ruins of so many kingdoms, republics, and states both barbarous and civilized; and forming in its turn, by its dismemberment, a multitude of states, republics, and kingdoms; the annihilation of the religion of Greece and Rome; the birth and the progress of the two new religions which have shared the most beautiful regions of the earth; the decrepitude of the ancient world, the spectacle of its expiring glory and degenerate manners; the infancy of the modern world, the picture of its first progress, of the new direction given to the mind and character of man—such a subject must necessarily fix the attention and excite the interest of men, who cannot behold with indifference those memorable epochs, during which, in the fine language of Corneille— 'Un grand destin commence, un grand destin s'achève.'" — 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
fairies light On Cassilis
Upon that night, when fairies light On Cassilis Downans^2 dance, Or owre the lays, in splendid blaze, On sprightly coursers prance; Or for Colean the rout is ta'en, Beneath the moon's pale beams; There, up the Cove,^3 to stray an' rove, Amang the rocks and streams To sport that night; [Footnote 2: Certain little, romantic, rocky, green hills, in the neighbourhood of the ancient seat of the Earls of Cassilis.—R.B.] — from Poems and Songs of Robert Burns by Robert Burns
Fauchet letter of corrupt
Randolph, Edmund, letter of Washington to, ii. 30, 39; relations with Washington, 64; appointed attorney-general, 64; his character, 64, 65; a friend of the Constitution, 71; opposes a bank, 110; letter of Washington to, on protective bounties, 118; drafts neutrality proclamation, 147; vacillates with regard to Genet, 154; argues that United States is bound by French alliance, 170; succeeds Jefferson as secretary of state, 184; directed to prepare a remonstrance against English "provision order," 185; opposed to Jay treaty, 188; letter of Washington to, on conditional ratification, 189, 191, 192, 194; guilty, apparently, from Fauchet letter, of corrupt practices, 196; his position not a cause for Washington's signing treaty, 196-200; receives Fauchet letter, resigns, 201; his personal honesty, 201; his discreditable carelessness, 202; fairly treated by Washington, 203, 204; his complaints against Washington, 203; letter of Washington to, concerning Monroe, 213; at first a Federalist, 246. Randolph, John, on early disappearance of Virginia colonial society, i. 15. — from George Washington, Volume I by Henry Cabot Lodge
formulate lines of conduct
Up to this point his phobia has led merely to eccentricity, but suppose his fear so far dominates him that he can no longer pursue his occupation for fear of handling tools or pen, and that he persistently refuses to eat through fear of poison, he has then reached the point where he can no longer formulate lines of conduct, and he is insane. — from Why Worry? by George Lincoln Walton
following list of calamities
The following list of calamities with the approximate value of material furnished, as well as money, will give you some appreciation of the services rendered in the cause of humanity by the American National Red Cross. — from The Red Cross in Peace and War by Clara Barton
future lord of creation
The impulse to appropriate any living thing (an instinct inherited from his carnivorous ancestors), indeed, a whole collection of irresistible impulses direct the murderous sporting instinct of the future lord of creation toward the delicate feathery structure. — from The Surprises of Life by Georges Clemenceau
Below, the valley is a crimson sea, Whose glowing billows break to white-hot foam; And as they surge amid the towering trees, They, tottering, bow forever to the waves; The leaves and branches, crackling into flame, Leave only clotted cinders floating there; The darting birds, their gaudy plumage singed, Fall fluttering in, with little puffs of smoke. — from The Angel in the Cloud by Edwin W. (Edwin Wiley) Fuller
It reminds us of the fifty men of Schwyz, who decided the fate of that first fight for freedom, the great battle of Morgarten—of the love of fatherland shown by an Arnold von Winkelried, an Adrian von Bubenberg, a Nicholas von der Flue, and the many thousand others who left wife, children, trades, and home, to seek the death of heroes for love of country. — from The Catholic World, Vol. 19, April 1874‐September 1874 by Various
This tab, called Hiding in Plain Sight,
shows you passages from notable books where your word is accidentally (or perhaps deliberately?)
spelled out by the first letters of consecutive words.
Why would you care to know such a thing? It's not entirely clear to us, either, but
it's fun to explore! What's the longest hidden word you can find? Where is your name hiding?