There is no knowledge in the higher sense of systematic, connected, reasoned knowledge, such as may one day be attained, and such as Plato himself seems to see in some far off vision of a single science.
— from Meno by Plato

Under certain conditions it is forbidden to many savage races to keep in the house sharp weapons and instruments for cutting [131] .
— from Totem and Taboo Resemblances Between the Psychic Lives of Savages and Neurotics by Sigmund Freud

These approach nearer to the truth than even Varro; for, whilst he saw no difficulty in extending natural theology in its entirety even to the world and the soul of the world, these acknowledge God as existing above all that is of the nature of soul, and as the Creator not only of this visible world, which is often called heaven and earth, but also of every soul whatsoever, and as Him who gives blessedness to the rational soul,—of which kind is the human soul,—by participation in His own unchangeable and incorporeal light.
— from The City of God, Volume I by Augustine, Saint, Bishop of Hippo

[82] It happened in the year 1214, King John being then in France with a great army, that a truce was taken betwixt the two kings of England and France for the term of five years; and a river, or arm of the sea, being then between either host, there was a knight in the English host, that cried to them of the other side, willing some one of their knights to come and joust a course or twain with him; whereupon, without stay, Robert Fitzwater, being on the French part, made himself ready, ferried over, and got on horseback, without any man to help him, and showed himself ready to the face of his challenger, whom at the first course he struck so hard with his great spear, that horse and man fell to the ground; and when his spear was broken he went back to the King of France; which when the king had seen, “By God’s tooth,” quoth he (after his usual oath), “he were a king indeed that had such a knight.”
— from The Survey of London by John Stow

As she used them, Jo found herself humming the songs Beth used to hum, imitating Beth's orderly ways, and giving the little touches here and there that kept everything fresh and cosey, which was the first step toward making home happy, though she didn't know it, till Hannah said with an approving squeeze of the hand,— "You thoughtful creter, you're determined we sha'n't miss that dear lamb ef you can help it.
— from Little Women; Or, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy by Louisa May Alcott

Some families keep in their homes small pots called thēlkodukku undi (scorpion sting vessels), and occasionally drop therein a copper coin, which is supposed to secure immunity against scorpion sting.
— from Omens and Superstitions of Southern India by Edgar Thurston

"He is not to cut it short," said the duchess; "on the contrary, for my gratification, he is to tell it as he knows it, though he should not finish it these six days; and if he took so many they would be to me the pleasantest I ever spent."
— from Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Then, observing the prints of a horse’s feet on the somewhat miry road, she ‘wondered whether it was a gentleman’s horse,’ and finally concluded it was, for the impressions were too small to have been made by a ‘great clumsy cart-horse’; and then she ‘wondered who the rider could be,’ and whether we should meet him coming back, for she was sure he had only passed that morning; and lastly, when we entered the village and saw only a few of its humble inhabitants moving about, she ‘wondered why the stupid people couldn’t keep in their houses; she was sure she didn’t want to see their ugly faces, and dirty, vulgar clothes—it wasn’t for that she came to Horton!’
— from Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë

“Master and servant, small and great, all with emulation, seizing the blessed Koran in their hands, swore in the form that I had given.
— from Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, v. 1 of 3 or the Central and Western Rajput States of India by James Tod

Mrs. Mole one day surprised him at a sly tipple in the grounds of the villa, and he knew it to his sorrow.
— from Jack Harkaway and His Son's Escape from the Brigands of Greece by Bracebridge Hemyng

The consequence of such a system is, that although the lands adjoining the villages be kept in the highest state of cultivation, yet those at a distance are suffered to remain almost useless; for having no beasts of burden, it would be an endless task of human labour to bear the manure that would be required, for several miles, upon the ground, and its produce from thence back again to the village.
— from Travels in China, Containing Descriptions, Observations, and Comparisons, Made and Collected in the Course of a Short Residence at the Imperial Palace of Yuen-Min-Yuen, and on a Subsequent Journey through the Country from Pekin to Canton by Barrow, John, Sir

"And I'm right sorry, too, to have my good opinion of a man knocked in the head so, for I did think well of Col. Philpot.
— from Godey's Lady's Book, Philadelphia, Volume 48, March, 1854 by Various

“Wanted to know if Toby here spoke the truth when he said we were only a bunch of fun-loving boys off on a vacation camping trip, didn’t he, Jack?”
— from Jack Winters' Campmates by Mark Overton

The only thing I know is that he suspects you of wanting to steal one of his secrets.”
— from The Vanished Messenger by E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim

Having greeted them thus, the king in their hearing spoke unto Vasishtha, Vāmadeva, and other Brāhmanas saying,—"This is the holy month of Chaitra; and the groves look beautiful with blossoms.
— from The Rāmāyana, Volume One. Bālakāndam and Ayodhyākāndam by Valmiki

Now we hear again the echoes of our past: a general falls to his knees in the hard snow of Valley Forge; a lonely President paces the darkened halls, and ponders his struggle to preserve the Union; the men of the Alamo call out encouragement to each other; a settler pushes west and sings a song, and the song echoes out forever and fills the unknowing air.
— from U.S. Presidential Inaugural Addresses by United States. Presidents