They, the combatants of this fateful hour, knew nothing of what was being done.
— from The History of a Crime The Testimony of an Eye-Witness by Victor Hugo

If thou art one of those eavesdroppers, who would have their moroseness be counted gravity, thou wilt condemn a mirth which thou art past relishing; and I know no other way to quit the score than by writing (as like enough I may) something as dull, or duller than thyself, if possible.
— from Gargantua and Pantagruel by François Rabelais

“Here we live, and know nothing of what’s going on,” Vronsky said to Golenishtchev as he came to see him one morning.
— from Anna Karenina by Tolstoy, Leo, graf

"Good, by God!" cried Sancho; "say no more in your own defence, master mine, for there's nothing more in the world to be said, thought, or insisted on; and besides, when this gentleman denies, as he has, that there are or ever have been any knights-errant in the world, is it any wonder if he knows nothing of what he has been talking about?" "Perhaps, brother," said the ecclesiastic, "you are that Sancho Panza that is mentioned, to whom your master has promised an island?"
— from Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

But the truth was, that Phutatorius knew not one word or one syllable of what was passing—but his whole thoughts and attention were taken up with a transaction which was going forwards at that very instant within the precincts of his own Galligaskins, and in a part of them, where of all others he stood most interested to watch accidents: So that notwithstanding he looked with all the attention in the world, and had gradually skrewed up every nerve and muscle in his face, to the utmost pitch the instrument would bear, in order, as it was thought, to give a sharp reply to Yorick, who sat over-against him——yet, I say, was Yorick
— from The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne

That is to say, you know nothing of what you are condemning? MANDERS.
— from Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen

The garrison received this man readily, while they knew nothing of what he came about; but as soon as he talked of the surrender of the place, they fell upon him with their drawn swords, till he found that he had no place for flight, when he threw himself down from the wall into the valley beneath; so he died immediately: but the Idumeans, who were already much afraid of Simon's power, thought fit to take a view of the enemy's army before they hazarded a battle with them. 6.
— from The Wars of the Jews; Or, The History of the Destruction of Jerusalem by Flavius Josephus

(I may remark that Varvara Petrovna had driven off early that morning in chase of Stepan Trofimovitch, and knew nothing of what had happened in the town.)
— from The Possessed (The Devils) by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Then your Majesty kept the river on your right, and, outflanking the enemy with your left, you at once turned and broke his phalanx, which indeed had from the first the wrong formation, since it had been drawn up by one who knew nothing of war or strategy.
— from The Works of the Emperor Julian, Vol. 1 by Emperor of Rome Julian

" "Indeed you wrong me," replied Lucy, with great solemnity; "I know nobody of whose judgment I think so highly as I do of yours; and I do really believe, that if you was to say to me, 'I advise you by all means to put an end to your engagement with Edward Ferrars, it will be more for the happiness of both of you,' I should resolve upon doing it immediately.
— from Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

The girl lay stiff, the lower part of her body swelled, she had cramps, shrieked, wrung her hands, leaped and sang unintelligible words; at last she fell asleep, and when she woke after an hour, knew nothing of what had happened.
— from Strange Survivals: Some Chapters in the History of Man by S. (Sabine) Baring-Gould

“Before long the children in the streets will talk of what this tells me,” said Katuti, laughing with bitterness, “only Nefert must know nothing of what has happened—nothing, mind; what is that?
— from Uarda : a Romance of Ancient Egypt — Complete by Georg Ebers

Marcella knew nothing of world politics.
— from Captivity by Leonora Eyles

Desk strategists who knew nothing of war's conditions had an easy task in figuring out with their blue pencils an absolutely certain victory for the Federal arms, if only the Federal generals could be persuaded or compelled by public opinion to avail themselves of their matchless opportunity.
— from The History of the Confederate War, Its Causes and Its Conduct, Volume 1 (of 2) A Narrative and Critical History by George Cary Eggleston

She ate and drank, slept and waked, but seemed to know nothing of what she was doing, and looked straight before her, like a mad woman.
— from Black Forest Village Stories by Berthold Auerbach

In France, and in other kingdoms, not only was the use of furs restricted by law to the great nobility, as is proved by the part played by ermine in ancient coats-of-arms; but certain rare furs, such as vair , which was beyond doubt imperial sable, might be worn only by kings, dukes, and men of high rank holding certain offices.
— from The Works of Honoré de Balzac: About Catherine de' Medici, Seraphita, and Other Stories by Honoré de Balzac

Evidently he played his part well, perhaps because, knowing nothing of what lay behind, he simply stuck to the terms of his delivery, for presently Red Murdo's party set off towards the meeting-place I had named for them.
— from The Black Colonel by James Milne

He had been one of the few to witness the descent of the two into the depths of the planet, but he knew nothing of what happened when they reached the bottom and sealed the repository.
— from The Alien by Raymond F. Jones

If these vivisectionists would give chloroform or ether to the animals they dissect; if they would render them insensible to pain, and if, by cutting up these animals, they could learn anything worth knowing, no one would seriously object.
— from The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Volume VIII. Interviews by Robert Green Ingersoll