all the morning long; I squeezed that sperm till I myself almost melted into it; I squeezed that sperm till a strange sort of insanity came over me; and I found myself unwittingly squeezing my co-laborers’ hands in it, mistaking their hands for the gentle globules.
— from Moby Dick; Or, The Whale by Herman Melville

And when Sir Griflet saw Sir Key’s mischance, he set his spear in rest, and riding at a mighty man-at-arms, he cast him down headlong and caught his horse and led it straightway to Sir Key.
— from The Legends of King Arthur and His Knights by Knowles, James, Sir

But at last it seemed true, so I went away and sat lonely in the place where I first saw him the morning that we were made and I did not know what he was and was indifferent about him; but now it was a mournful place, and every little thing spoke of him, and my heart was very sore.
— from Eve's Diary, Complete by Mark Twain

Pliny, lib. 24. c. 1 , bitterly taxeth all compound medicines, [4169] Men's knavery, imposture, and captious wits, have invented those shops, in which every man's life is set to sale: and by and by came in those compositions and inexplicable mixtures, far-fetched out of India and Arabia; a medicine for a botch must be had as far as the Red Sea.
— from The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton

Without specifying the particulars of our entertainment, let it suffice to say, it was at the same time elegant and sumptuous, and the rejoicings lasted two days; after which, Don Rodrigo settled his affairs, converted his effects into silver and gold, visited and took leave of all his friends, who were grieved at his departure, and honoured me with considerable presents; and, coming on board of my uncle's ship, with the first fair wind we sailed from the Rio de la Plata, and in two months came safe to an anchor in the harbour of Kingston, in the Island of Jamaica.
— from The Adventures of Roderick Random by T. (Tobias) Smollett

My lord, if Sir Tumley Snuffim was to see that delicate creature at this moment, he would not give a—a— this for her life.’
— from Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens

‘My landlady is subject to some slight attacks of mental derangement,’ remarked Bob Sawyer, with a ghastly smile; ‘I fear I must give her warning.’
— from The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens

Let it suffice to say that, having in some measure appeased the raging thirst which consumed us by the blood of the victim, and having by common consent taken off the hands, feet, and head, throwing them together with the entrails, into the sea, we devoured the rest of the body, piecemeal, during the four ever memorable days of the seventeenth, eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth of the month.
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven Edition Table Of Contents And Index Of The Five Volumes by Edgar Allan Poe

This screed Wisdom long ago begot: "Follow woman must, not lead; If she thinks, she follows not."
— from Ecce Homo Complete Works, Volume Seventeen by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

“I thought it looked like it,” said the servant rather sulkily; and then, with another voice, “But what matters hand of write?”
— from The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

The substance on which the enameling is performed is lava in slabs; the same substance has since been used as the basis of certain enameled designs; it is much superior in some points to porcelain in this application, because the necessary exposure to fire does not cause it to crack in the manner that porcelain does.—
— from The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 14, No. 385, August 15, 1829 by Various

Ten years later I saw the same reserve consisting of fifteen thousand or twenty thousand horses,—so much had ideas and means changed.
— from The Art of War by Jomini, Antoine Henri, baron de

The wasp has lost its sting, the serpent its poison, and the tiger its desire to tear.
— from Daybreak; A Romance of an Old World by James Cowan

He therefore suddenly changed about and solely, as he declared, to avert civil war, took the lead in securing the success of a measure which he heartily hated.
— from The Leading Facts of English History by D. H. (David Henry) Montgomery

Life is, so to speak, paralyzed, and we give a remedy which, appar [Pg 151] ently stimulating, is in reality, a paralyzer and therefore mischievous; the death-rate might be considerably reduced provided alcohol were rigidly excluded.’”
— from Alcohol: A Dangerous and Unnecessary Medicine, How and Why What Medical Writers Say by Martha Meir Allen

He heard about Miss Glidden, and listened in silence to several hopeful things Jack had to say about what he meant to do sooner or later.
— from Crowded Out o' Crofield; or, The Boy who made his Way by William O. Stoddard

True, if he held to it, the caving of the bank at its present fearful speed would let the house into the river within three months; but were it not better to lose it so than sell his birthright?
— from The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine (June 1913) Vol. LXXXVI. New Series: Vol. LXIV. May to October, 1913 by Various

I shall say but little of my treatment, let it suffice to say, the worst I was used was from attendant White, he kicked me severely when I was a little too slow to suit him when walking out.
— from Ten Years and Ten Months in Lunatic Asylums in Different States by Moses Swan

I have referred chiefly to the medical journals, but I would include with these the reports of medical associations, and those separate publications which, coming in the form of pamphlets, heap themselves into chaotic piles and bundles which are worse than useless, taking up a great deal of room, and frightening everything away but mice and mousing antiquarians, or possibly at long intervals some terebrating specialist.
— from Complete Project Gutenberg Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. Works by Oliver Wendell Holmes

Past and Future I have no recollection of how long I stood there staring blankly into the void, for the sun was hidden behind the darkened sky.
— from The Revolutions of Time by Jonathan Dunn