“I cannot understand,” he said, “why wine is allowed by all religions, when its use deprives man of his reason.”—“All
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova

Not that she was incommoded by many fears of Sir Thomas's disapprobation when the present state of his house should be known, for her judgment had been so blinded that, except by the instinctive caution with which she had whisked away Mr. Rushworth's pink satin cloak as her brother-in-law entered, she could hardly be said to shew any sign of alarm; but she was vexed by the manner of his return.
— from Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

And I will bring thee where no shadow stays Thy coming, and thy soft embraces, he Whose image thou art; him thou shalt enjoy Inseparably thine, to him shalt bear Multitudes like thyself, and thence be called Mother of human race."
— from Paradise Lost by John Milton

His rule appears to have been to state just so much of the truth as would leave on the mind of his readers a correct impression, at the least cost of pain to the sensitive folks he was writing about.
— from Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain

In August 1791, as a consequence of the French Revolution, the black slaves and mulattoes on Haiti rose in revolt against the whites, and in the period of turmoil that followed enormous cruelties were practised by both sides.
— from Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

Then stretched he out the forefinger and middle finger or medical of his right hand, holding them asunder as much as he could, and thrusting them towards Thaumast.
— from Gargantua and Pantagruel by François Rabelais

—During barbarous ages, when pessimistic judgments held sway over men and the world, the individual, in the consciousness of his full power, always endeavoured to act in conformity with such judgments, that is to say, he put his ideas into action by means of hunting, robbery, surprise attacks, brutality, and murder: including the weaker forms of such acts, as far as they are tolerated within the community.
— from The Dawn of Day by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

But now that Olaf Trygvason was king of Norway, he remained long during the summer (A.D. 996) in Viken, where many of his relatives and some of his brothers-in-law were settled, and also many who had been great friends of his father; so that he was received with the greatest affection.
— from Heimskringla; Or, The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway by Snorri Sturluson

With a quick, dexterous movement of his right hand he pointed to various portions of his clothes.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of 233 Short Stories of Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

Now it is a well-known law in Moslem countries that he who blasphemes the Prophet Mohammed or his religion must die.
— from The Moors in Spain by Stanley Lane-Poole

A moment of historical reflection suffices to see that the former is the architecture of a long-settled agricultural place, with its spreading undefended villages, in which each household had its separate dwelling, the other a persistence of the Continental fortified city crowded within its walls.
— from Civics: as Applied Sociology by Geddes, Patrick, Sir

Then W. bet an oyster-supper for the whole party, which F. took up, that Miller, on his return, would confirm his client's statement.
— from The Shirley Letters from California Mines in 1851-52 by Dame Shirley

When does a mouthful of hay reach a cow’s stomach?
— from Atoms in Agriculture: Applications of Nuclear Science to Agriculture (Revised) by Thomas S. Osborne

IMG The Romans in most cases collected the revenues of a province by means of a publican or farmer, to whom the taxes were let by auction; but such was the importance of Egypt that the same jealousy which made them think its government too great to be trusted to a man of high rank, made them think its revenues too large to be trusted to one farmer.
— from History of Egypt From 330 B.C. To the Present Time, Volume 11 (of 12) by A. S. (Angelo Solomon) Rappoport

"His opinion on all subjects would have great weight, and I wish you to obtain from him as much of his reflections upon the times and the service as you can."
— from The Life of George Washington: A Linked Index to the Project Gutenberg Editions by John Marshall

The immortal Milton, on his return from Italy, was the guest of the same nobleman.
— from The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 16, No. 97, November, 1865 A Magazine of Literature, Science, Art, and Politics by Various

As Meynell entered the Maudeley lane, with the woods of Sandford Abbey on his left, and the little trout-stream flashing and looping through the water meadows on his right, his mind was often occupied by a conversation between himself and Stephen Barron which had taken place the night before.
— from The Case of Richard Meynell by Ward, Humphry, Mrs.

Subsequently, finding themselves deserted, they drew back towards Camp Stephens, where they were soon joined by "General Cooper, with his regiment and battalion of Choctaws and Chickasaws, and" by "Colonel McIntosh with 200 men of his regiment of Creeks."
— from The American Indian as Participant in the Civil War by Annie Heloise Abel

Emerson would not have pretended that he was always "consistent with himself," but these "salutary influences," restoring, enkindling, vivifying, are felt by many of his readers who would have to confess, like Dr. Walter Channing, that these thoughts, or thoughts like these, as he listened to them in a lecture, "made his head ache."
— from Complete Project Gutenberg Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. Works by Oliver Wendell Holmes

Frederick the Great; the memoirs of his reader (1758-1760); tr. by F. S. Flint; with an introd. by Lord Rosebery.
— from The Book Review Digest, Volume 13, 1917 Thirteenth Annual Cumulation Reviews of 1917 Books by Various