The ordinary rocks upon which such men do impinge and precipitate themselves, are cards, dice, hawks, and hounds, Insanum venandi studium , one calls it, insanae substructiones : their mad structures, disports, plays, &c., when they are unseasonably used, imprudently handled, and beyond their fortunes.
— from The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton

I have given no sort of ground for such ridicule—on the contrary, I have always behaved in every way like a gentlem
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of 233 Short Stories of Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

Friar John of Tillmouth were the man: A blithesome brother at the can, A welcome guest in hall and bower, He knows each castle, town, and tower, In which the wine and ale is good, ’Twixt Newcastle and Holyrood.
— from Marmion: A Tale Of Flodden Field by Walter Scott

There are not many persons, I hope and believe, who, after reading these passages, can ever hear that name with indifference.
— from American Notes by Charles Dickens

In hardness and bitterness of soul, Ursula knew that Winifred was become her uncle's lover.
— from The Rainbow by D. H. (David Herbert) Lawrence

And our Sense-soul is only in the Second Person Christ Jesus; in whom is the Father and the Holy Ghost: and in Him and by Him we are mightily taken out of Hell, and out of the wretchedness in Earth worshipfully brought up into Heaven and blissfully oned to our Substance: increased in riches and in nobleness by all the virtues of Christ, and by the grace and working of the Holy Ghost.
— from Revelations of Divine Love by of Norwich Julian

But, in reality, we are not so fond of paying compliments to these people, whom we use as children frequently do the instruments of their amusement; and have much more pleasure in hissing and buffeting them, than in admiring their excellence.
— from History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding

Among nations, to whom commerce and manufacture are little known, the sovereign, it has already been observed in the Fourth book, is in a situation which naturally disposes him to the parsimony requisite for accumulation.
— from An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith

This morning, to my great content, W. Hewer tells me that a porter is come, who found my tally in Holborne, and brings it him, for which he gives him 20s.
— from The Diary of Samuel Pepys — Complete by Samuel Pepys

The happiness I gave her increased mine twofold, for it has always been my weakness to compose the four-fifths of my enjoyment from the sum-total of the happiness which I gave the charming being from whom I derived it.
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova

I have always been a little haunted by that last dread.
— from An Englishman Looks at the World Being a Series of Unrestrained Remarks upon Contemporary Matters by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells

“Not ask Junior if he and Bob Laird are old chums and call each other by their first names?” “How silly it would sound!”
— from Success: A Novel by Samuel Hopkins Adams

"I know it," he admitted, "but, do you see, I didn't know what I was doing, and then, when I hit him, I got frightened and ran."
— from Here are Ladies by James Stephens

{149} It was in vain she wept, and implored to be allowed to see her betrothed once more, if only to bid him farewell; her letters were intercepted, her attendants became spies on her movements, and, on the young prince presenting himself before the gates, his life was threatened by the barons who remained within the fortress.
— from The Catholic World, Vol. 01, April to September, 1865 A Monthly Eclectic Magazine by Various

But we had a tell, and I hear as Bartholomew Stanbury means to give a handsome party."
— from The Virgin in Judgment by Eden Phillpotts

The ceremony of their investiture has been gradually made more impressive; it has also been imbued with religious sentiment and elaborated with religious rite.
— from The Mediaeval Mind (Volume 1 of 2) A History of the Development of Thought and Emotion in the Middle Ages by Henry Osborn Taylor

I had a boundless desire for such a boy as this to idolize me—to look into my face out of big eyes and lose himself in love for me—to call me by endearing pet names—of his own accord to throw his arms around my neck.
— from Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 5 Erotic Symbolism; The Mechanism of Detumescence; The Psychic State in Pregnancy by Havelock Ellis

Cilia had laid stress on the importance of appealing to local patriotism, and the circular accordingly pointed out that "in neighbouring towns it has already been wisely recognised that the shipping of the future will be steam, and that the day of the sailing vessel is past; our town alone, though it has always occupied a leading position in the shipping world, is sadly behindhand in this respect, counting as yet not a single steamer.
— from Dry Fish and Wet: Tales from a Norwegian Seaport by Anthon Bernhard Elias Nilsen

“But I hope and believe,” continued he, “that my Berenice is not disposed to form uncharitable judgments either of individuals or nations; especially not of the English, of whom she has, from their history and literature, with which we are not wholly unacquainted, conceived the highest ideas.”
— from Tales and Novels — Volume 09 by Maria Edgeworth