The silly husband secrets tried to know, And rather seemed to seek the wily foe, Which fear has often rendered fatal round, When otherwise the ill had ne'er been found.
— from Tales and Novels of J. de La Fontaine — Complete by Jean de La Fontaine

But while the decomposition of the multifarious mass was thus carried far enough to produce distinct bodies, each of them specialised, knowable, and regular — still the separation can never be complete, nor can any one thing be “cut away as with a hatchet” from the rest.
— from Plato and the Other Companions of Sokrates, 3rd ed. Volume 1 by George Grote

" No sooner were the words spoken than a rousing knock and ring startled the silence, and a bandbox appeared covered with brilliant red letters spelling, "This side up with care," and several other phrases with the same meaning.
— from Who Spoke Next by Eliza Lee Cabot Follen

Their own countrymen merely say "once upon a time there was a king" and recount some trivial story.
— from Hinduism and Buddhism, An Historical Sketch, Vol. 1 by Eliot, Charles, Sir

I cannot tell how it may be, For both, methinks, can scarce be true, Still, as she earthly grew to me, She grew more heavenly too; She seems one born in Heaven With earthly feelings, For, while unto her soul are given More pure revealings Of holiest love and truth, Yet is the mildness of her eyes Made up of quickest sympathies, Of kindliness and ruth; So, though some shade of awe doth stir Our souls for one so far above us, We feel secure that she will love us, And cannot keep from loving her.
— from Poems of James Russell Lowell With biographical sketch by Nathan Haskell Dole by James Russell Lowell