And as for me, though that my wit be lyte, On bokes for to rede I me delyte, And to hem yeve I feyth and ful credence, And in myn herte have hem in reverence So hertely, that ther is game noon That fro my bokes maketh me to goon, But hit be seldom, on the holyday; Save, certeynly, whan that the month of May Is comen, and that I here the foules singe, And that the floures ginnen for to springe-- Farwel my book and my devocioun!
— from English Literature Its History and Its Significance for the Life of the English-Speaking World by William J. (William Joseph) Long

Alas, he is not speaking when he is reading, so his dilemma is painful—and not to himself alone.
— from The Art of Public Speaking by J. Berg (Joseph Berg) Esenwein

“He intended returning some hours after me, and doubtless he is now at home.”
— from The Count of Monte Cristo, Illustrated by Alexandre Dumas

For example, if a man be seated, the supposition of his being seated is necessarily true; and, conversely, if the supposition of his being seated is true, because he is really seated, he must necessarily be sitting.
— from The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius

Though it is ours to criticize and condemn the intellectual principles upon which his work is based, we cannot but desire to be like him, in rendering solemn homage to the Being he deems inscrutable.
— from Know the Truth: A Critique on the Hamiltonian Theory of Limitation Including Some Strictures Upon the Theories of Rev. Henry L. Mansel and Mr. Herbert Spencer by Jesse Henry Jones

When I come to reflect on the subject, in no country have I received such honors, or been so esteemed, as in Italy, and nothing contributes more to a man's fame than to have written Italian operas, and especially for Naples.
— from The Letters of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — Volume 01 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

The children are early taught to greet callers and guests cordially, heartily, in real Southern, hospitable fashion, and to make them feel that they are very welcome.
— from Pushing to the Front by Orison Swett Marden

Ten to one he would have proved a glutton, a sloven, an obstinate, disagreeable animal—wallowing in all manner of filthy conversation—from these sins he is happily snatched away— Ere sin could blight, or sorrow fade, Death came with timely care— his memory is odoriferous—no clown curseth, while his stomach half rejecteth, the rank bacon—no coalheaver bolteth him in reeking sausages—he hath a fair sepulchre in the grateful stomach of the judicious epicure—and for such a tomb might be content to die.
— from The Works of Charles and Mary Lamb — Volume 2 Elia and The Last Essays of Elia by Charles Lamb

"One will do as well as a hundred, I reckon," said he.
— from The Sheriff of Badger: A Tale of the Southwest Borderland by George Pattullo

Yesterday afternoon I met a man named Hartzmann; he had known Karl intimately, and before I left him I realized something had aroused his suspicions.
— from I Spy by Natalie Sumner Lincoln

Crowds of vedettes swarmed along the sides of the valley ready to outflank any enemy or take him in reverse should he appear.
— from The Story of the Zulu Campaign by Edmund Verney Wyatt Edgell

Besides, the phrophet (see how I recklessly spell him, to do him the greater honour!) must —I can't imagine a subtilizing prophet.
— from The Letters of Henry James (Vol. I) by Henry James

For in the watches of the night he heard Innumerable Romans shout his name Within his theatre; the benches vied To raise his fame and place him with the gods; As once in youth, when victory was won O'er conquered tribes where swift Iberus flows, (4) And where Sertorius' armies fought and fled, The west subdued, with no less majesty Than if the purple toga graced the car, He sat triumphant in his pure white gown A Roman knight, and heard the Senate's cheer.
— from Pharsalia; Dramatic Episodes of the Civil Wars by Lucan

Call your soul your own, said I; he jumped up and gin me a wipe with that little black switch across the nose; it had hardly cleverly touched me, afore I took him a sneezer, between the two eyes, glasses and all; he dropped over like a rabbit when you knock 'em behind the head; I rather suspicion he thought a two year old colt's heels had got a taste of his cocoanut.
— from The Kentuckian in New-York; or, The Adventures of Three Southerns. Volume 1 (of 2) by William Alexander Caruthers