Could the reader have seen him gently leading me by the hand—as he sometimes did—patting me on the head, speaking to me in soft, caressing tones and calling me his “little Indian boy,” he would have deemed him a kind old man, and really, almost fatherly.
— from My Bondage and My Freedom by Frederick Douglass

The great men of the city met in solemn conclave to consider how the difficulty was to be met.
— from The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain

In the Second Part, Cervantes repeatedly reminds the reader, as if it was a point upon which he was anxious there should be no mistake, that his hero’s madness is strictly confined to delusions on the subject of chivalry, and that on every other subject he is discreto, one, in fact, whose faculty of discernment is in perfect order.
— from The History of Don Quixote, Volume 1, Complete by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

And maun I still, &c. The merry ploughboy cheers his team, Wi' joy the tentie seedsman stalks; But life to me's a weary dream, A dream of ane that never wauks.
— from Poems and Songs of Robert Burns by Robert Burns

I would therefore have the Demurrer consider what a strange Figure she will make, if she chances to get over all Difficulties, and comes to a final Resolution, in that unseasonable Part of her Life.
— from The Spectator, Volume 1 Eighteenth-Century Periodical Essays by Steele, Richard, Sir

The heart of man is so constituted that the unhappy child had hardly closed her eyes when Marius began to think of unfolding this paper.
— from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

Well then, as has been said already, as a general rule the debt should be discharged, but if in a particular case the giving greatly preponderates as being either honourable or necessary, we must be swayed by these considerations: I mean, in some cases the requital of the obligation previously existing may not be equal; suppose, for instance, that the original benefactor has conferred a kindness on a good man, knowing him to be such, whereas this said good man has to repay it believing him to be a scoundrel.
— from The Ethics of Aristotle by Aristotle

Mabel, I shall cut that woman dead wherever
— from The Story Book Girls by Christina Gowans Whyte

He is one whose mind is so constituted that what the Christian calls evidence is not satisfactory to him.
— from The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Complete Contents Dresden Edition—Twelve Volumes by Robert Green Ingersoll

The mind is so constituted that certain things, being in accordance with its nature, are regarded as reasonable, as probable.
— from The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 11 (of 12) Dresden Edition—Miscellany by Robert Green Ingersoll

Die Geschichte des Menschen ist sein Charakter —The history of a man is in his character.
— from Dictionary of Quotations from Ancient and Modern, English and Foreign Sources Including Phrases, Mottoes, Maxims, Proverbs, Definitions, Aphorisms, and Sayings of Wise Men, in Their Bearing on Life, Literature, Speculation, Science, Art, Religion, and Morals, Especially in the Modern Aspects of Them by Wood, James, Rev.

Unless you have something of importance to tell me I shall conclude that this fortune-telling seance is ended,” and Laura rose from her seat.
— from The Girls of Central High on Track and Field Or, The Champions of the School League by Gertrude W. Morrison

In some cases, it may be the fault of the master: in some cases, that of the men.
— from Plain Words for Christ, Being a Series of Readings for Working Men by Reginald G. Dutton

She knew it would please her very much if she chose that instead of wild flowers, so she practised moulding the yellow pats into pretty shapes, that it might please both eye and taste.
— from Jack and Jill by Louisa May Alcott