Each of them was lavish in his praises of the heroes of his own city, until eventually the Theban asserted that Hercules was the greatest hero who had ever lived on earth, and now occupied a foremost place among the gods; while the Athenian insisted that Theseus was far superior, for his fortune had been in every way supremely blessed, whereas Hercules had at one time been forced to act as a servant.
— from Aesop's Fables; a new translation by Aesop

How could I stay there; the bear was making full speed for the fields, like a hare, farther and farther; finally I lost my breath and had no hope of catching up; then I looked to the right: he was standing right there, and [pg 114] the trees were not dense.
— from Pan Tadeusz Or, the Last Foray in Lithuania; a Story of Life Among Polish Gentlefolk in the Years 1811 and 1812 by Adam Mickiewicz

A civilized people have far other means of imparting civilization to those under their influence; and slavery is, in all its details, so repugnant to that government of law, which is the foundation of all modern life, and so corrupting to the master-class when they have once come under civilized influences, that its adoption under any circumstances whatever in modern society is a relapse into worse than barbarism.
— from Considerations on Representative Government by John Stuart Mill

“Indeed?” “And for that reason I did myself the honor of calling upon you, in order to beg for an explanation.”
— from The Count of Monte Cristo, Illustrated by Alexandre Dumas

His subjects paid the same veneration to his person, and the most distinguished [Pg 253] princes who waited on him, or came upon business, always took off their fine garments, to put on a meaner dress of nequen cloth, and came so, barefoot, into his presence.
— from The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo, Vol 1 (of 2) Written by Himself Containing a True and Full Account of the Discovery and Conquest of Mexico and New Spain. by Bernal Díaz del Castillo

He had officiously carried up the dinner, being, as he said, very desirous to see his young lady; he made therefore no scruple of keeping his master standing above ten minutes, while civilities were passing between him and Sophia, for which he received only a good-humoured rebuke at the door when he returned.
— from History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding

After death comes the judgment; the bad depart to houses of correction under the earth, the good to places of joy in heaven.
— from Phaedrus by Plato

Legrand led the way with decision; pausing only for an instant, here and there, to consult what appeared to be certain landmarks of his own contrivance upon a former occasion.
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven Edition Table Of Contents And Index Of The Five Volumes by Edgar Allan Poe

It is wonderful, the power of a faith like that, that can make multitudes upon multitudes of the old and weak and the young and frail enter without hesitation or complaint upon such incredible journeys and endure the resultant miseries without repining.
— from Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World by Mark Twain

If her friend had blurted or bungled he would have said, in his simplicity, "Did we do 'everything to avoid' it when we faced your remarkable marriage?"—quite handsomely of course using the plural, taking his share of the case, by way of a tribute of memory to the telegram she had received from him in Paris after Mr. Verver had despatched to Rome the news of their engagement.
— from The Golden Bowl — Volume 1 by Henry James

"--G.F. "Mr F. has most amply and ably discussed the point in his observations, controverting unanswerably, as the writer thinks, the opinion of Buffon and others, as to the existence of southern lands being necessary for the production of such large masses of ice.
— from A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 14 by Robert Kerr

He had to trust his instincts, and so far they had given him every assurance that he was moving in a free, independent orbit of his own, completely unobserved.
— from Space Station 1 by Frank Belknap Long

"Hold on," cried Uncle Gaspard.
— from Nobody's Boy Sans Famille by Hector Malot

'If they do abolish God from their poor bewildered hearts,' said Carlyle, 'all or most of them, there will be seen for some length of time, perhaps for some centuries, such a world as few are dreaming of.' CHAPTER XI THERE WERE IN THE SAME COUNTRY SHEPHERDS 'He would denounce the horrors of Christmas until it almost made me blush to look at a hollyberry.
— from Victory out of Ruin by Norman Maclean

Another debate of a somewhat excited character followed, but calmer counsels than had at first found favour with the House of Commons ultimately prevailed.
— from William the Third by H. D. (Henry Duff) Traill

Half a one was handed to each; fur every man is his own cook upon the pampas.
— from On the Pampas; Or, The Young Settlers by G. A. (George Alfred) Henty

In Godolphin’s gentleness and courage, Saville thought he saw the mirror of his own crusted urbanity and scheming perseverance; in Godolphin’s fine imagination and subtle intellect he beheld his own cunning and hypocrisy.
— from Godolphin, Complete by Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron

An ardent admirer from the Western world has placed a beautiful marble tablet to his memory in one of the halls of Cambridge University.
— from A Baptist Abroad: Travels and Adventures of Europe and all Bible Lands by Walter Andrew Whittle

She knows how to intercede for the familiar manner of address, which he has, of course, used to the noonday spirit, but withdrawn again from the living girl; she makes former privileges of use to her here.
— from Delusion and Dream : an Interpretation in the Light of Psychoanalysis of Gradiva by Sigmund Freud