It is true, they are necessary against malefactors, and so far useful to society; but of a thousand men of the kind, there is not one who acts from the motive of the public good, or who even reflects that it is a public good.
— from A Philosophical Dictionary, Volume 07 by Voltaire

Doth give new hope of love and new desire To happy beasts amid the dews dissolved, Amid the forests filled with joyous light: Perchance unto the weary minds of men, In graves of woe entombed, Returns the happy age, by grief and dire Torches of truth consumed [Pg 70] Before its time?
— from The Poems of Leopardi by Giacomo Leopardi

It is only when the spinning is going on with exceptional rapidity and vigor that the movements of the threads and the characteristics of the operation can be observed on the surface of social life, Such is the case in these days at Rome, and it is not necessary to watch the actions of governments or listen to the discussions of legislative chambers in order to assure one's self of the fact.
— from Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 17, No. 098, February, 1876 by Various

But Evelyn shook her head with the gentle obstinacy which Elizabeth remembered of old.
— from Those Brewster Children by Florence Morse Kingsley

The vast walls, which towered up to a tremendous height, were richly adorned in the lower half with bas-reliefs illustrating various religious myths: the council of the gods; Bel-Marduk's combat with Tiamât the dragon; and Oannes the fish-god, giver of wisdom, expounding religion [Pg 430] to the throngs of people that came down to hear him on the shores of the gulf of the setting sun.
— from Istar of Babylon: A Phantasy by Margaret Horton Potter

He immediately caused the gunwale to be lightened, by throwing the guns overboard, which effectually raised her, and the waves of the returning tide assisted in extricating the vessel from imminent peril.
— from The Eve of All-Hallows; Or, Adelaide of Tyrconnel, v. 1 of 3 by Matthew Weld Hartstonge

Of the conversations which I had with various Chinese gentlemen one was especially remarkable as a testimony to their activity.
— from Changing China by Cecil, Florence Mary (Bootle-Wilbraham), Lady

And yet, at the same time, he, like Luther, again declared virginity to be a “higher gift,” one which even ranked above marriage (“ virginitas donum est praestantius coniugio ”).
— from Luther, vol. 3 of 6 by Hartmann Grisar

Nancy was used to having her own way, and for years she had been used to going off with Edward, ratting, rabbiting, catching salmon down at Fordingbridge, district-visiting of the sort that Edward indulged in, or calling on the tenants.
— from The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford