Upon the polished floor were spread Fresh buds and blossoms white and red, And women shone, a lovely crowd, As lightning flashes through a cloud: A palace splendid as the sky Which moon and planets glorify: Like earth whose towering hills unfold Their zones and streaks of glittering gold; Where waving on the mountain brows The tall trees bend their laden boughs,
— from The Rámáyan of Válmíki, translated into English verse by Valmiki

I myself will kill to you a good many boldly enough; for why, David killed Goliath very easily; and then this great lecher, Eusthenes, who is stronger than four oxen, will not spare himself.
— from Gargantua and Pantagruel by François Rabelais

And Ow my good Lord, ere we are, wytin for em!
— from Man and Superman: A Comedy and a Philosophy by Bernard Shaw

George Lidwell, eyelid well expressive, fullbusted satin.
— from Ulysses by James Joyce

I have a good landed estate worth five thousand a year, and owe no man a halfpenny; and I question whether there be many counts in your nation—no offence, I hope—that can say a bolder word.
— from The Adventures of Ferdinand Count Fathom — Complete by T. (Tobias) Smollett

You know that the Lord Strutts have for many years been possessed of a very great landed estate, well conditioned, wooded, watered, with coal, salt, tin, copper, iron, etc., all within themselves; that it has been the misfortune of that family to be the property of their stewards, tradesmen, and inferior servants, which has brought great incumbrances upon them; at the same time, their not abating of their expensive way of living has forced them to mortgage their best manors.
— from The History of John Bull by John Arbuthnot

Phœbus had scarcely shaken out His golden locks, ere wheels were winding, And spindles whirled and danced about, The spools of thread these captives binding: Whiz—whiz; no resting; work and work!
— from The Fables of La Fontaine Translated into English Verse by Walter Thornbury and Illustrated by Gustave Doré by Jean de La Fontaine

In the mean time I worship God, laying every wrong action under an interdict which I endeavour to respect, and I loathe the wicked without doing them any injury.
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova

She had bright hair tied up with a blue ribbon and her gay, lovely eyes were exactly like Colin's unhappy ones, agate gray and looking twice as big as they really were because of the black lashes all round them.
— from The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

In fact, that exquisitely fine young gentleman loved Edith well enough to marry her, but not to work for her.
— from What Can She Do? by Edward Payson Roe

Another very important circumstance (which I have hinted at previously) acts in the same direction, the circumstance, namely, that numerous Latin derivatives have passed over into the Germanic languages even when the stem does not occur there.
— from International Language and Science Considerations on the Introduction of an International Language into Science by Richard Lorenz

Great laughter ensued when a boy found he had purchased a doll, or a girl was rewarded with a tin whistle, but surprises like these were expected, and were part of the game.
— from Marjorie in Command by Carolyn Wells

This was a gay little establishment, with high wooden counters, painted red.
— from Their Son; The Necklace by Eduardo Zamacois

dearest Arabella," he replied, with a gay smile, "neither rash nor imprudent--bold, perhaps, to watch you as you sat here musing; but I claim but the privilege of the sun, who looks at you through the green leaves, even whilst you fancy yourself hidden from his bright eye."
— from Arabella Stuart: A Romance from English History by G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford) James

The teacher was just standing before him and called on him, continuing in the geography lesson: "Edi, will you tell me the most important productions of Upper Italy?" Italy!
— from Erick and Sally by Johanna Spyri

Poor grimy little Emma waited on him wearily, and always neglected him if the Lisles wanted her.
— from Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Vol. 22, August, 1878 by Various