He aspired to place his fortune on a secure and independent basis, which should no longer depend on the caprice of the young emperor; yet he neglected to conciliate the hearts of the soldiers and people, by the liberal distribution of those riches, which he had acquired with so much toil, and with so much guilt.
— 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 is a passion that is wholly worthless in a well-regulated mind, which only serves to weaken the heart, and which should be left to ordinary persons, who, as they never do anything from reason, have need of passions to stimulate their actions.
— from Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims by François duc de La Rochefoucauld

And as the newe abaysshed nightingale, That stinteth first whan she biginneth to singe, Whan that she hereth any herde tale, 1235 Or in the hegges any wight steringe, And after siker dooth hir voys out-ringe; Right so Criseyde, whan hir drede stente, Opned hir herte and tolde him hir entente.
— from Troilus and Criseyde by Geoffrey Chaucer

[pg 146] Before that dire disgrace shall blast my fame, O'erwhelm me, earth; and hide a warrior's shame!"
— from The Iliad by Homer

4. The heroic age , which seemed an approximation to a better state of things.
— from The New Gresham Encyclopedia. A to Amide Vol. 1 Part 1 by Various

I motioned him away with silent dignity, but he still advanced, screeching out the while: “I’m a-coming, sur, I’m a-coming.
— from Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. (Jerome Klapka) Jerome

They never seem so happy as when shouting and singing at religious meetings.
— from Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself by Harriet A. (Harriet Ann) Jacobs

She went quickly to him, and whispered something.
— from Anna Karenina by Tolstoy, Leo, graf

…” Liza looked at him, and was surprised.
— from The Possessed (The Devils) by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

I never shall forget him peeping round the corner of the street in Tottenham Court Road, while Peggotty was bargaining for the precious articles; or his agitation when she came slowly towards us after vainly offering a price, and was hailed by the relenting broker, and went back again.
— from David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

In addition to the mutiny of his troops, the three widows of his father who, instead of receiving the treatment proper to their rank, had been neglected and were living in poverty, sought an interview with him; and were seized by Ghatgay, flogged, and barbarously treated.
— from At the Point of the Bayonet: A Tale of the Mahratta War by G. A. (George Alfred) Henty

I had stood so about a quarter of an hour, as I suppose, and was listening to a long roll of thunder that seemed to shake the very foundations of these palsied buildings when, as if answering to the call of the storm, there arose within the house behind me a cry so agonized, so hopeless, and withal so horribly inhuman, as even now my hair stirs to remember it.
— from Idonia: A Romance of Old London by Arthur Frederick Wallis

The plague of vermin at St. Petersburg, especially of bugs, was also well known to me and the following instance was told me by the Prince of Prussia at the marriage of his niece: [90] he said that the newly built palace was dried by excessive artificial heat and was so infested with vermin that the bride was devoured the first night that she slept there and was obliged to appear at the entertainments covered with red marks.
— from Memoirs of the Duchesse De Dino (Afterwards Duchesse de Talleyrand et de Sagan), 1841-1850 by Dino, Dorothée, duchesse de

The refreshing beams of the morning sun shone on his narrow white bed and on the sleeping forms of his dear little brothers and Denny, who had got the pillow on top of his head and was snoring like a kettle when it sings.
— from The Wouldbegoods: Being the Further Adventures of the Treasure Seekers by E. (Edith) Nesbit

The King bent his head, and, without saying anything more, returned straight towards the castle, and when he was nigh to it summoned the Captain of his Guard, and charged him to take the Bastard prisoner.
— from The Tales of the Heptameron, Vol. 3 (of 5) by Marguerite, Queen, consort of Henry II, King of Navarre

He was one who chafed under restraint, and one who, when he had once decided upon a course of action, could not brook opposition from another; and though at heart he knew that Bob was fearless and brave, and that his arguments were sound, yet he would not now admit this, even to himself.
— from The Gaunt Gray Wolf: A Tale of Adventure With Ungava Bob by Dillon Wallace

When she reached the foot of the scaffold, and took her stand there, her aspect was so composed, serene, and resolved, that she seemed like an inhabitant of another world suddenly descended amidst the coarse and brutal mob.
— from Constance Sherwood: An Autobiography of the Sixteenth Century by Georgiana Fullerton

It was with feelings of great pride and deep sorrow that he read of the sufferings of the German believers for their Faith and the persecutions they underwent so heroically, and with such unflinching loyalty, for our Holy Cause.
— from The Light of Divine Guidance (Volume 1) by Effendi Shoghi