Suffering is the mother of fools, reason of wise men.
— from Dictionary of Quotations from Ancient and Modern, English and Foreign Sources Including Phrases, Mottoes, Maxims, Proverbs, Definitions, Aphorisms, and Sayings of Wise Men, in Their Bearing on Life, Literature, Speculation, Science, Art, Religion, and Morals, Especially in the Modern Aspects of Them by Wood, James, Rev.

His father ran out with a stick, but by the time he came up, Karait had lunged out once too far, and Rikki-tikki had sprung, jumped on the snake’s back, dropped his head far between his forelegs, bitten as high up the back as he could get hold, and rolled away.
— from The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling

There were two reasons for this: it was desired to throw the full responsibility on woman, compelling her to learn to preside and to think, speak and act for herself, which she never would do if men were present to perform these duties for her; and it was feared that, on account of long habit, men would soon take matters into their own hands and gain control of the society, possibly to the extent of forbidding women to speak at the meetings.
— from The Life and Work of Susan B. Anthony (Volume 1 of 2) Including Public Addresses, Her Own Letters and Many From Her Contemporaries During Fifty Years by Ida Husted Harper

these figures are faint representations of whales the canoes and the harpoonneers striking them.
— from The Journals of Lewis and Clark, 1804-1806 by William Clark

But what, on your conscience, was it, do you think, that established, confirmed, and authorized those fine religious orders with whom you see the Christian world everywhere adorned, graced, and illustrated, as the firmament is with its glorious stars?
— from Gargantua and Pantagruel by François Rabelais

4. The cargo, which was pillaged, consisted of the revenue of Provence for the royal treasury, many bags of pepper and cinnamon, and bales of French cloth, to the value of 20,000 florins; a rich prize.] The deliverance of his country inspired Rienzi with a vast, and perhaps visionary, idea of uniting Italy in a great federative republic, of which Rome should be the ancient and lawful head, and the free cities and princes the members and associates.
— 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

Immediately after this Herod came away from thence, and took his sons to Tyre, where Nicolaus met him in his voyage from Rome; of whom he inquired, after he had related to him what had passed at Berytus, what his sentiments were about his sons, and what his friends at Rome thought of that matter.
— from Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus

Was Camillus without glory when banished from Rome, of which he is now accounted the second founder?
— from Plutarch's Morals by Plutarch

The great service that religions have rendered to thought is that they have constructed a first representation of what these relations of kinship between things may be.
— from The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life by Émile Durkheim

The fortress is call'd Ismail, and is placed Upon the Danube's left branch and left bank, With buildings in the Oriental taste, But still a fortress of the foremost rank, Or was at least, unless 't is since defaced, Which with your conquerors is a common prank: It stands some eighty versts from the high sea, And measures round of toises thousands three.
— from Don Juan by Byron, George Gordon Byron, Baron

Her very eyes showed but the faintest rim of white.
— from The Wit of Women Fourth Edition by Kate Sanborn

This was the first formal recognition of witchcraft by the head of the Church.
— from Witch, Warlock, and Magician Historical Sketches of Magic and Witchcraft in England and Scotland by W. H. Davenport (William Henry Davenport) Adams

At the same time he referred to the following rates of wages in support of his contention that there was no good ground for dissatisfaction among the servants of the Post Office: for carriers, 19 s. a week advancing to 23 s. ; for sorters of the first class, 25 s. to 30 s. ; of the second class, 32 s. to 38 s. ; and of the third class, 40 s. to 50 s. "Carriers also obtain Christmas boxes averaging, so it is said, £8 a year.
— from The History of the British Post Office by Joseph Clarence Hemmeon

Halted in the bed of the river, which formed fine reaches of water, with dry sand-bars between; caught several catfish and perch; mussels were abundant, the form of the shell much longer than I have before seen in the other parts of the river.
— from Journals of Australian Explorations by Francis Thomas Gregory

His home is a burrow in the bank, and far inside the female lines a chamber with moss and fine roots, or weaves a round nest of grass and leaves where in May or June she brings forth her litter of five to eight minute blind and naked young.
— from Animal Life of the British Isles A Pocket Guide to the Mammals, Reptiles and Batrachians of Wayside and Woodland by Edward Step

But when either the father died, and left his next heir, for want of age, wisdom, courage, or any other qualities, less fit for rule; or where several families met, and consented to continue together; there, it is not to be doubted, but they used their natural freedom, to set up him, whom they judged the ablest, and most likely, to rule well over them.
— from Second Treatise of Government by John Locke

Like all other moral enthusiasts for right or wrong, they tap the bible for their nourishment, and several times, so they say, hav only missed in their kalculations, but about two inches, which iz mighty cluss for so big a thing.
— from The Complete Works of Josh Billings by Josh Billings