To dream of the indefinite prolongation of defunct things, and of the government of men by embalming, to restore dogmas in a bad condition, to regild shrines, to patch up cloisters, to rebless reliquaries, to refurnish superstitions, to revictual fanaticisms, to put new handles on holy water brushes and militarism, to reconstitute monasticism and militarism, to believe in the salvation of society by the multiplication of parasites, to force the past on the present,—this seems strange.
— from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

He imagined a kingdom, the inhabitants of which were endowed with every gift that could make them good and happy.] enjoys the best state of health; and yet that now and then—or rather sometimes—or, better still, from time to time—or, still better, qualche volta, as the Italians say—your Majesty will impart to me some of your grave and important thoughts (emanating from that most admirable and solid judgment which, in addition to beauty, your Majesty so eminently possesses; and thus, although in such tender years, my Queen casts into the shade not only the generality of men but even the gray-haired).
— from The Letters of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — Volume 01 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

However, though the ooze and broken ground impeded me my youth and training made me able to hold my ground, and by keeping a diagonal line I not only kept them from gaining on me but even began to distance them.
— from Dracula's Guest by Bram Stoker

He continu’d his Passion for me, with all the earnest and honest Sollicitations imaginable, till some Months before my Mother’s Death; who, at that time, was most desirous to see me disposed of in Marriage to another Gentleman, of much better Estate than Mr. Fondlove ; but one whose Person and Humour did by no means hit with my Inclinations:
— from The Works of Aphra Behn, Volume V by Aphra Behn

For when Sylla, having led his army against Archelaus, the general of Mithridates, became exhausted by the violence of the conflict, and was deserted by all his soldiers, he ran to the foremost rank, and seizing a standard he turned it against the enemy, exclaiming, "Go!
— from The Roman History of Ammianus Marcellinus During the Reigns of the Emperors Constantius, Julian, Jovianus, Valentinian, and Valens by Ammianus Marcellinus

Besides the principal of these causes, which is, the want of an element of civilization such as that which modern nations have had in Christian charity, we shall find among the ancients, if we descend to the details of their social organization, certain causes which necessarily hindered this gentleness of manners being established among them.
— from Protestantism and Catholicity compared in their effects on the civilization of Europe by Jaime Luciano Balmes

At the other end of the smoking-room I ran into a group of men bunched excitedly and angrily around Bertie Messener.
— from The Strength of the Strong by Jack London

To avoid it, Columbus made for Madeira, and anchored there; from that island he dispatched all his vessels, except three, to Hispaniola under the command of the Captains Pedro de Arana, Alonzo Sanchez of Carabajal, and Juan Antonio Columbus, one of his own relations, while he, with a large ship and two caravels bore down to the south with the intention of crossing the equator, and seeking for more southern countries, which, according to the general opinion, must be even richer in all kinds of productions.
— from Celebrated Travels and Travellers, Part 1. The Exploration of the World by Jules Verne

We are not quite certain whether there is not a tincture of enthusiasm in this account given by his lordship, as it is too natural to fly from one extreme to another, from the excesses of debauchery to the gloom of methodism; but even if we suppose this to have been the case, he was certainly in the safest extreme; and there is more comfort in hearing that a man whose life had been so remarkably profligate as his, should die under such impressions, than quit the world without one pang for past offences.
— from The Lives of the Poets of Great Britain and Ireland (1753) Volume II. by Theophilus Cibber

It is unusual to find a camp so far in the woods at that season, when lumbering operations have ceased, and I was glad to avail myself of the circumstance of a gang of men being employed there at that time in repairing the injuries caused by the great freshet in the spring.
— from The Maine Woods The Writings of Henry David Thoreau, Volume 03 (of 20) by Henry David Thoreau

To attain this end, a denomination belonging to a partial group only may be extended over the whole chain; or a name may be employed which, by reason of its novelty, is not likely to give rise to homogenic mistakes.
— from Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of America, During the Year 1799-1804 — Volume 3 by Alexander von Humboldt

Git off my bed, else look another way; them eyes o' yourn skear me.'
— from Aylwin by Theodore Watts-Dunton