"'Tis a talent the Lord has mercifully bestowed upon us, and we ought not to neglect it.
— from Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

And there was the bare chance that Betteredge might discover something in the unread portion of Rosanna Spearman’s letter, which it might be useful for me to know before I left the house in which the Diamond had been lost.
— from The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

While therefore its shape has been adhered to, its size has unavoidably been slightly enlarged, to admit of the reader being able, conveniently, to peruse the inscription, even by very lamplight, and though he may be under the influence of wine.
— from Hung Lou Meng, or, the Dream of the Red Chamber, a Chinese Novel, Book I by Xueqin Cao

“No, he turned me back upon the stairs.
— from The Valley of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle

With a fair and strong breeze we soon ran into the little cove to the northward of Fort Moultrie, and a walk of some two miles brought us to the hut.
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 1 by Edgar Allan Poe

All that is bound may be undone, but only an evil being would wish to undo that which is harmonious and happy.
— from Timaeus by Plato

The influence of the clergy, in an age of superstition, might be usefully employed to assert the rights of mankind; but so intimate is the connection between the throne and the altar, that the banner of the church has very seldom been seen on the side of the people.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Table of Contents with links in the HTML file to the two Project Gutenberg editions (12 volumes) by Edward Gibbon

Now, by my life, Old fools are babes again; and must be us’d With checks as flatteries, when they are seen abus’d.
— from The Tragedy of King Lear by William Shakespeare

The infinitive may be used as the subject of a verb.
— from A Complete Grammar of Esperanto by Ivy Kellerman Reed

In the matter of tāli-kettu (tāli-tying) marriage, and marriage by union in sambandham (alliance), they follow customs similar to those of Nāyars.
— from Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 1 of 7 by Edgar Thurston

Buquoy , to congratulate the Emperour; but we all conclude here, that persons of such quality, being great in matter of Warre, are not sent for so small an emploiment: we beleeve certainly, that they deliberate a Warre, and that the reduction of Aix being not worthy this diligence, their intentions must be upon Cleve [ s ], for the new Town which the two Princes make by Collen [ Cologne ] despites them much.
— from Letters to Severall Persons of Honour by John Donne

Why do we, Poor silly men, bred up in cares and fear, The nurse of our religion, stoop to Nature, That only knows to form, not to preserve What she has made; since, careless of her work, She leaves to giddy Fortune the whole power Of ruling us?
— from A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 12 by Robert Dodsley

The other is the dry water-slaked lime made by using only enough water to slake the quick-lime, but not enough to leave it wet.
— from Ginseng and Other Medicinal Plants A Book of Valuable Information for Growers as Well as Collectors of Medicinal Roots, Barks, Leaves, Etc. by A. R. (Arthur Robert) Harding

If Vendel had been a poet, he could not have desired more; but unfortunately, as it was, all this was lost to him, and he would readily have been excused the enjoyment of such romantic scenes.
— from Hungarian Sketches in Peace and War Constable's Miscellany of Foreign Literature, vol. 1 by Mór Jókai

M. Boeckh (Untersuchungen, p. 86) wishes us to regard the difference between the view taken in the Phædon, and that in the Republic, as no way important; he affirms that the adamantine spindle in the Republic is altogether mythical or poetical, and that Plato conceives the axis as not being material.
— from Plato's Doctrine Respecting the Rotation of the Earth and Aristotle's Comment Upon That Doctrine by George Grote

Treated in this way, the horse with cankered feet may be usually kept at work during the whole time that treatment is carried out, and a cure is obtainable in periods varying from six weeks to six or even twelve months.
— from Diseases of the Horse's Foot by H. Caulton (Harry Caulton) Reeks

This solubility of carbohydrates in hot water may be utilized in the washing of utensils in which these substances have been prepared; thus saving much time and effort on the part of the nurse in either the diet kitchen or in the home.
— from Dietetics for Nurses by Fairfax T. (Fairfax Throckmorton) Proudfit

EXAMPLE.—What size of double belt is required to transmit 50 horse power at 4,000 ft. speed, and what diameter pulley must be used for 954 revolutions per minute at 4,000 ft. speed of belt?
— from Hawkins Electrical Guide v. 02 (of 10) Questions, Answers, & Illustrations, A progressive course of study for engineers, electricians, students and those desiring to acquire a working knowledge of electricity and its applications by N. (Nehemiah) Hawkins

As George burst out triumphantly with this declaration he found his hand once more shaken and squeezed, while the commander of the monitor beamed upon him.
— from Motor Boat Boys Down the Danube; or, Four Chums Abroad by Louis Arundel