"It cannot be, senor, but that this grass is a proof that there must be hard by some spring or brook to give it moisture, so it would be well to move a little farther on, that we may find some place where we may quench this terrible thirst that plagues us, which beyond a doubt is more distressing than hunger."
— from Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Certainly you could have asked me more quietly to turn off the Victrola.
— from Plays by Susan Glaspell

They commanded the latter in virtue of their position, by which the passage westward could be made so much more quickly than the return; while the decisive points of the continental struggle were practically little farther from the one than from the other.
— from The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783 by A. T. (Alfred Thayer) Mahan

A mild quotation to translate, A little Juvenal to spout, With "vale" finish off a note; Two verses he could recollect Of the Aeneid, but incorrect.
— from Eugene Oneguine [Onegin] A Romance of Russian Life in Verse by Aleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin

And have you further observed, that those who have a natural talent for calculation are generally quick at every other kind of knowledge; and even the dull, if they have had an arithmetical training, although they may derive no other advantage from it, always become much quicker than they would otherwise have been.
— from The Republic by Plato

The sum of the expense hereof, being cast up, brought in, and laid down upon his council-board carpet, was found to amount to no more quarterly than the charge of the nuptials of a Hircanian tigress; even, as you would say, 600,000 maravedis.
— from Gargantua and Pantagruel by François Rabelais

A stone cut in the shape of a sugar loaf, which he gripped between his feet while a rope connected it to his boat, served to lower him more quickly to the ocean floor.
— from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas: An Underwater Tour of the World by Jules Verne

Boulogne!—hah!—so we are all got together—debtors and sinners before heaven; a jolly set of us—but I can't stay and quaff it off with you—I'm pursued myself like a hundred devils, and shall be overtaken, before I can well change horses:—for heaven's sake, make haste—'Tis for high-treason, quoth a very little man, whispering as low as he could to a very tall man, that stood next him—Or else for murder; quoth the tall man—Well thrown, Size-ace!
— from The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne

That I do not exaggerate these perils, let me quote the testimony of General Gantt, a citizen of Arkansas, who participated in the recent election.
— from Charles Sumner: his complete works, volume 11 (of 20) by Charles Sumner

“You will forgive me, mademoiselle,” said Marguerite, whose simple and calm manner quickly tended to soothe Jeanne Lange’s confusion; “but I was so anxious about my brother—I do not know where to find him.”
— from El Dorado: An Adventure of the Scarlet Pimpernel by Orczy, Emmuska Orczy, Baroness

"What thou canst, let it be done without delay, for I would fain behold a sight so wonderful; yet will I first take precaution to put thee in durance until it be accomplished; perchance it may quicken thee to this good work; and I do bethink me too, thou knowest more than thou wouldest fain acknowledge of this evil dealing toward my sister."
— from Traditions of Lancashire, Volume 2 by John Roby

M. Quatrefages thinks that man probably originated in Asia.
— from The Prehistoric World; Or, Vanished Races by Emory Adams Allen

Between 1895 and 1900, as a result of the natural development of national commerce, the number of city workingmen grew to vast proportions and they formed an important class, which, on account of its situation, was much more qualified than the peasants to interest itself in the ideas of socialism and liberty.
— from Contemporary Russian Novelists by Serge Persky

The next page goes on to discuss the possibilities of a strong partnership between Italy and Japan, and I would pass from my quotation to the next page where the writer is summarizing his ideas.
— from Trial of the Major War Criminals Before the International Military Tribunal, Nuremburg, 14 November 1945-1 October 1946, Volume 3 by Various

Jumping to the ground, we unhitched the mules more quickly than that operation had ever been performed before.
— from An Autobiography of Buffalo Bill (Colonel W. F. Cody) by Buffalo Bill

Time had passed more quickly than they had been aware.
— from The Old Man of the Mountain by Herbert Strang