His perfidious cruelty is execrated by the Christians: they adorn with the colors of heroic martyrdom the execution of the great duke and his two sons; and his death is ascribed to the generous refusal of delivering his children to the tyrant's lust.
— 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

It should be observed that [287] this, which we may call the Individualistic Ideal, is the type to which modern civilised communities have, until lately, been tending to approximate: and it is therefore very important to know whether it is one which completely satisfies the demands of morality; and whether Freedom, if not an absolute end or First Principle of abstract Justice, is still to be sought as the best means to the realisation of a just social order by the general requital of Desert.
— from The Methods of Ethics by Henry Sidgwick

Restlessly the Rat wandered off once more, climbed the slope that rose gently from the north bank of the river, and lay looking out towards the great ring of Downs that barred his vision further southwards—his simple horizon hitherto, his Mountains of the Moon, his limit behind which lay nothing he had cared to see or to know.
— from The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

Lots of men fail because they don't know how to get rid of deadwood in their establishment, or retain non-productive employees, who with slip-shod methods, and indifference drive away more business than the proprietors can bring in by advertising.
— from Pushing to the Front by Orison Swett Marden

King Harald Gormson ruled over Denmark at that time.
— from Heimskringla; Or, The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway by Snorri Sturluson

[Pg 106] Nobody ever perceived a scientific law of nature by intuition, nor arrived at a general rule of duty or prudence by it.
— from The Subjection of Women by John Stuart Mill

The Day of Miracles was past, and a long, gray road of dogged work lay ahead.
— from Darkwater: Voices from Within the Veil by W. E. B. (William Edward Burghardt) Du Bois

Alarmed by the rapidity of its progress, those who despair of arresting its motion endeavor to obstruct it by difficulties and impediments; they vainly seek to counteract its effect by contrary efforts; but it gradually reduces or destroys every obstacle, until by its incessant activity the bulwarks of the influence of wealth are ground down to the fine and shifting sand which is the basis of democracy.
— from Democracy in America — Volume 1 by Alexis de Tocqueville

If musical instruments are making discord, I may silence or I may bring them into harmony in either case I get rid of discord, but in the latter I have the positive enjoyment of music.
— from The Ethics of Aristotle by Aristotle

This was to be followed by a general rush on deck of all the convicts from below.
— from Prisons Over Seas Deportation and Colonization; British and American Prisons of To-day by Arthur Griffiths

Outcropping of sub-bottom layers on the steeper slopes indicate slumping, while the deepening of the sub-bottom reflecting horizon in valleys indicates a greater rate of deposition.
— from The Floors of the Ocean: 1. The North Atlantic Text to accompany the physiographic diagram of the North Atlantic by Bruce C. Heezen

As with gloves, rings of different values were given to relatives of different degrees of consanguinity, and to friends of different stations in life; much tact had to be shown, else much offence might be taken.
— from Customs and Fashions in Old New England by Alice Morse Earle

Get ready, O. D.” “I’ve got to beat it, then,” said Neil, getting out.
— from What Outfit, Buddy? by T. Howard (Thomas Howard) Kelly

In the general relaxation of discipline and haste, the raft had not been made with as much care as usual, and the strong current against which the boat was labouring assisted the negligence of the convicts.
— from For the Term of His Natural Life by Marcus Andrew Hislop Clarke

To my disgust, and doubtless that of everybody else, it was worse than ever; the sky was overcast and louring, with great rags of dirty grey scud flying athwart the face of the heavens from the westward, while the top of Mount Sampson was completely enveloped in mist, which, notwithstanding the gale, clung to the rugged peak and ribs of the mountain very much as the “tablecloth” does to the summit of Table Mountain.
— from Under the Ensign of the Rising Sun: A Story of the Russo-Japanese War by Harry Collingwood

"The music of our life is keyed To moods that sweep athwart the soul; The strain will oft in gladness roll, Or die in sobs and tears at need; But sad or gay, 'tis ever true
— from Rose à Charlitte by Marshall Saunders