Charitable foundations were endowed for rearing and educating poor children.
— from Meditations by Emperor of Rome Marcus Aurelius

Two or three nights in every week the gloves were brought out, either in the hall or fifth-form room; and every boy who was ever likely to fight at all knew all his neighbours' prowess perfectly well, and could tell to a nicety what chance he would have in a stand-up fight with any other boy in the house.
— from Tom Brown's School Days by Thomas Hughes

Still, in the wars of the American Revolution, and of the French Republic and Empire, to use the strong expression of a French author, "England, despite the immense development of her navy, seemed ever, in the midst of riches, to feel all the embarrassment of poverty."
— from The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783 by A. T. (Alfred Thayer) Mahan

By degrees, the prospect receded more and more on either hand, and as they had been shut out from rich and extensive scenery, so they emerged once again upon the open country.
— from Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens

As soon as he had dispatched this messenger, he went in quest of his sister, whom he found reading and expounding the Gazette to parson Supple.
— from History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding

And thus stands the first article explained; otherwise, could you imagine that the good fame, repute, and estimation of an honest man should depend upon the tail of a whore?
— from Gargantua and Pantagruel by François Rabelais

The first time I went to see what it was like and it only cost me a doubloon (about eleven francs), but ever after it cost me four doubloons, for the following reason: An elderly gentleman, who sat next me at supper, guessed I was a foreigner by my difficulty in making myself understood by the waiter, and asked me where I had left my lady friend.
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova

We may therefore justly conclude that, in the amount of taxes, customs, and every kind of financial resources, Augustus exceeded all sovereigns who had hitherto ever swayed the sceptre of imperial dominion; a noble acquisition, had it been judiciously employed by his successors, in promoting public happiness, with half the profusion in which it was lavished in disgracing human nature, and violating the rights of mankind.
— from The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Complete by Suetonius

O Face returning at each Eucharist, More close than forms that change with changing years, I am the veil between myself and Thee, Burn
— from The Dark Ages, and Other Poems by L.

He often amused himself by putting innocent people to death; he attempted to famish Rome, and even wished that the Romans had one head, that he might strike it off at a blow!
— from Famous Men of Ancient Times by Samuel G. (Samuel Griswold) Goodrich

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Company will assemble for rehearsal, at Emerson’s Opera House, San Francisco, on Wednesday, Dec. 27th, at 12 M. sharp.
— from In Partnership: Studies in story-telling by Brander Matthews

Flying reptiles also evolved, to set an example for the bats of the mammalian class, for both kinds of flying organisms converted their anterior limbs into wings, although in different ways.
— from The Doctrine of Evolution: Its Basis and Its Scope by Henry Edward Crampton

Were then the feelings of friends, relations and even of strangers to be disregarded?
— from Chance: A Tale in Two Parts by Joseph Conrad

22:558 D 16 ‘17 430w “Episodes and characters are drawn from reality and each conversation is a portrait and a history.” + Pittsburgh 22:679
— from The Book Review Digest, Volume 13, 1917 Thirteenth Annual Cumulation Reviews of 1917 Books by Various

And the thought of this jealousy added a spur To his firm resolution and effort to please.
— from Lucile by Lytton, Edward Robert Bulwer Lytton, Earl of

She had thrown away or lost her self-restraint; those feelings raged and expressed themselves uncontrolled, and Gualtier for the first time saw her off her guard.
— from The Cryptogram: A Novel by James De Mille