Nothing could be clearer than the grounds on which pious men in the beginning recognise divine agencies.
— from The Life of Reason: The Phases of Human Progress by George Santayana

Now, how it is possible that out of a given state one quite opposite to it in the same thing should follow, reason without an example can not only not conceive, but cannot even make intelligible without intuition; and this intuition is the motion of a point in space; the existence of which in different spaces (as a consequence of opposite determinations) alone makes the intuition of change possible.
— from The Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant

When they knew who were to use that authority, and how it was to be employed, they thought it never could be carried too far.
— from The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Vol. 01 (of 12) by Edmund Burke

Yet it is not useless that men should see how far human nature can be carried, in contradiction to every feeling the most sacred, to every pleading, whether of justice or of humanity.
— from Fox's Book of Martyrs Or A History of the Lives, Sufferings, and Triumphant Deaths of the Primitive Protestant Martyrs by John Foxe

Music was a passion less turbulent, but not less consuming, from the ardor with which I attached myself to it, by the obstinate study of the obscure books of Rameau; by an invincible resolution to charge my memory with rules it could not contain; by continual application, and by long and immense compilations which I frequently passed whole nights in copying: but why dwell on these particularly, while every folly that took possession of my wandering brain, the most transient ideas of a single day, a journey, a concert, a supper, a walk, a novel to read, a play to see, things in the world the least premeditated in my pleasures or occupation became for me the most violent passions, which by their ridiculous impetuosity conveyed the most serious torments; even the imaginary misfortunes of Cleveland, read with avidity and frequent interruption, have, I am persuaded, disordered me more than my own.
— from The Confessions of Jean Jacques Rousseau — Complete by Jean-Jacques Rousseau

The "Japan Times," a newspaper conducted by Charles Rickerby, affected to pooh-pooh the whole affair, and denied the authenticity of the Mikado's decree, which, he said, ought to have been covered with seals.
— from A Diplomat in Japan The inner history of the critical years in the evolution of Japan when the ports were opened and the monarchy restored, recorded by a diplomatist who took an active part in the events of the time, with an account of his personal experiences during that period by Ernest Mason Satow

Thus the whole of a narrative can be constructed, the various fragments, with all their spontaneous freshness, can be put in their proper places, and this is what I have done in giving this account of shipwreck.
— from Argonauts of the Western Pacific An Account of Native Enterprise and Adventure in the Archipelagoes of Melanesian New Guinea by Bronislaw Malinowski

The activity of Alexander or of Napoleon cannot be called useful or harmful, for it is impossible to say for what it was useful or harmful.
— from War and Peace by Tolstoy, Leo, graf

hasty, 325 , 3; no counsel, 150 , 7; no, no help, 148 , 59; no, till asked, 123 , 20; not at needful moment, 551 , 11; of a friend, 471 , 11; slow-footed, advantage, 394 , 13; the value of, 548 , 13; thrown away, 549 , 30; unselfish, rare, 199 , 12 Counsellor , to be without, 493 , 11 Counsellors , good, lack not clients, 120 , 22; good, value of, to prince, 161 , 26; the best, 335 , 59 Counsels , hasty, effect of, 512 , 4; scattered, not to rest on, 375 , 1 Countenance , an index, 518 , 12; more in sorrow, 3 , 29 Counting , by nose, 334 , 29; correct, effect of, on friendships, 48 , 19 Countries , the richest, now and formerly, 112 , 33 Country , a great, mark of a, 133 , 15; a, strength and power of, 445 , 26; duty to our, 227 , 1; effect of, on men, 274 , 6; largest soul of a, 438 , 1; lifelong affection for, importance of, 505 , 21; longing for the, 322 , 1; love of, 56 , 33; 559 , 24; love of, and good manners, 439 , 48; love of, comprehensiveness of, 328 , 1; love of, sweet, 73 , 55; merit of serving one's, 364 , 44; one's, defined, 337 , 31; 343 , 35; 504 , 26; sacrifice for, sweet, 73 , 50; served in various ways, 523 , 3; test of a, condition, 421 , 20; the, privilege of, 449 , 28; the undiscovered, 424 , 19; 459 , 34; to be abandoned, 333 , 47; want of interest in one's, 502 , 20; wealth of a, 461 , 39, 43; who enjoy, 405 , 52 Courage , a, from fear, 477 , 44; and compassion joined, 505 , 47; and fear, with reference to danger, 103 , 32, 41; compared with justice, 216 , 17; connected with heart, 287 , 48; enough, 169 , 46; from duty, 166 , 14; in a bad affair, 31 , 58; in confronting evil, 86 , 4; mental, rarer than valour, 278 , 2; more than rage, 367 , 35; necessity for, 521 , 28; often from fear, 233 , 13; only in innocence, 472 , 18; physical and moral, 348 , 18; pitch it should rise to, 63 , 17; sacred, what it evidences, 379 , 7; shown in death, 178 , 22; that braves heaven, 167 , 3; that we admire, 421 , 40; to endure, 3 , 30; want of, 518 , 31; with success or defeat, 493 , 25 Courages , the best, 417 , 34 Course , our, forward, 524 , 27 Courses , bad, issue of, 33 , 3 Court , does not make happy, 225 , 1; like a marble edifice, 224 , 35; sayings about, 422 , 2-5; selfishness at, 82 , 60; the, La Bruyère on, 363 , 15 Courteous man, a, 147 , 2 Courtesies , small and great, effect of, 453 , 50 Courtesy , dependent on morality, 473 , 41; excess of, suspicious, 548 , 50; import of, 462 , 12; of the heart, 85 , 29; room for, 247 , 48; rule in, 185 , 45; rule of, 432 , 2; 526 , 28; want of, 163 , 33 Courtier , an assiduous, a slave, 363 , 30; father of the tyrant, 446 , 43; the requisites of, 420 , 7 Courtship , a dream, 275 , 4 Covet all, lose all, 42 , 34 Covetous , man, and his wealth, 173 , 21; riches of, 422 , 6 Covetousness , and modesty, as regards wealth, 86 , 44; cause of, 96 , 32; contrasted with charity, 40 , 27; folly of, 131 , 30; inconsistent with godliness, 171 , 15; its object, 300 , 35; penalty of, 13 , 48; slavery, 244 , 16 Cow , the, and the piper, 122 , 25 Cowardice , pain of, in fear, 103 , 41 Coward , brave, under bad fortune, 542 , 44; the rights of, 538 , 27 Cowards , boastful, 177 , 49; not visited by God, 127 , 54; sayings about, 487 , 30, 31; should be allowed to desert, 109 , 26; with hearts false as stairs of sand, 161 , 41 Cowl makes not monk, 50 , 39 Cowper , inspiring idea of, 123 , 14 Coxcomb , a, man's own making, 291 , 16; and the flatterer, 422 , 8; once, one always, 109 , 1 Cradle , what is learned in, 536 , 25 Crack , a, in everything, 469 , 30 Craft , a, advantage of having, 366 , 20; a, to be learned when young, 235 , 39; power of, 331 , 20 Crafty , man, always in danger, 422 , 10; man and his time, 431 , 24 Creating something, the condition of, 177 , 32 Creation , a thought of God, 127 , 34; and destruction simultaneous, 190 , 11; not to be understood, 268 , 8; beginning of, 417 , 21; better than learning, 200 , 22; end of, 264 , 8; God's manner of, 128 , 16; {pg 584} harmony of, 332 , 22; motive of, 434 , 26; not easy, 301 , 27; visible and invisible, 461 , 4 Creation's blot, creation's blank, 413 , 46 Creator , an inference from nature, 291 , 2 Creature , how to understand any, 190 , 21; of God, one, 128 , 4; the true, of God, 128 , 4 Creatures , all provided for, 142 , 11 Credit , easily lost, 283 , 24; given only to belief, 319 , 31; private, worth of, 357 , 8 Credulity , its nature, and subjects of it, 225 , 3 Creed , a, always sensitive, 383 , 1; a steadfast, foundation of, 34 , 50; not so significant as the man, 529 , 37; of the true saint, 422 , 13; outworn, a pagan suckled in a, 133 , 31; two elements in every, 186 , 29 Creeds , effect of science on, 382 , 24 Creeping in the way and running out of it, 142 , 35 Cricket on the hearth, 102 , 8 Crime , an equaliser, 50 , 9; eschewed from disgrace it brings, 8 , 20; every, avenged at the moment, 90 , 33; evil of overlooking a, 196 , 26; fatal prevailing source of, 333 , 26; indulgence to, 332 , 1; its natural punishment, 225 , 2; meditated, committed, 289 , 31; no consecrating, 312 , 18; no hiding of, 45 , 8; 472 , 24; sharer in, 50 , 52; that most impute a, 479 , 29; the contagion of, 421 , 31; the disgrace, 39 , 3; 69 , 17; 233 , 16; when successful, 358 , 28; who hinders not, 146 , 56 Crimes , causes of, 173 , 39; consecrated, 405 , 28; great, the foreshadows of, 363 , 2; not cured by cruelty, 50 , 34; others', our estimate of, 161 , 13; when a crown is at stake, 239 , 19 Criminal laws to be gentle, 260 , 44 Criminality , condition of, 277 , 50 Criminals , and the light, 311 , 37; different fates of, of same type, 45 , 9 Cringe , effect of ceasing to, 514 , 13; people who, 480 , 4 Crisis , a, for both men and nations, 331 , 29; significance of, 94 , 58; the, to be prayed for, 243 , 34 Critic , attribute of a good, 25 , 2; but a, 382 , 7; eye of, 426 , 33;
— 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.

He might be superseded by another; he certainly would indeed; nothing could be clearer; even a Robert Martin would have been sufficient; but nothing else, she feared, would cure her.
— from Emma by Jane Austen

But suppose the national government were apathetic, suppose that the Irish Ministry looked with favourable eye on the diminution of English revenue; suppose that no Irish official gave any aid to a custom-house officer; suppose that, if a British coastguardsman were murdered, Irish detectives made no effort to discover the wrong-doer; and that when the culprit was discovered the Irish law officers hesitated to prosecute; suppose that when a prosecution took place the Attorney-General showed that his heart was not in the matter, and that the jury acquitted a ruffian clearly guilty of murder, is it not as clear as day that smuggling would flourish and no customs be collected?
— from A Leap in the Dark A Criticism of the Principles of Home Rule as Illustrated by the Bill of 1893 by Albert Venn Dicey

It is true the romance of "Lancelot" was not completed by Chretien, we are told, but the poem is his in such large part that one would be over-scrupulous not to call it his.
— from Four Arthurian Romances by Chrétien, de Troyes, active 12th century

Therein God has ordered all things beforehand once for all, having foreseen prayers, good and bad actions, and all the rest; and each thing as an idea has contributed, before its existence, to the resolution that has been made upon the existence of all things; so that nothing can be changed in the universe (any more than in a number) save its essence or, if you will, save its numerical individuality .
— from Theodicy Essays on the Goodness of God, the Freedom of Man and the Origin of Evil by Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm, Freiherr von

[53] Nothing can be clearer or stronger than this.
— from Churchwardens' Manual their duties, powers, rights, and privilages by George Henry Sumner

But nothing could be carried off easily with those watchful "regulars" about.
— from The Adventures of Uncle Jeremiah and Family at the Great Fair Their Observations and Triumphs by C. M. (Charles McClellan) Stevens

"I sometimes think I'd like to run away and never come back," continued Sam.
— from Bob Burton; or, The Young Ranchman of the Missouri by Alger, Horatio, Jr.

No material conquest, and no physical change in the face of nature, can be compared with the reversal and resurrection of a great mind.
— from Victor Serenus: A Story of the Pauline Era by Henry Wood

uppressing them, 192; his American feelings, 191, 193; warns Congress in vain that Howe means to attack Philadelphia, 193; baffles Howe's advance across New Jersey, 195; learning of his sailing, marches to defend Philadelphia, 195; offers battle at Brandywine, 196, 197; out-generaled and beaten, 197; rallies army and prepares to fight again, 198; prevented by storm, 199; attacks British at Germantown, 199; defeated, 200; exposes himself in battle, 200; real success of his action, 201; despised by English, 202; foresees danger of Burgoyne's invasion, 203; sends instructions to Schuyler, 204; urges use of New England and New York militia, 304; dreads northern advance of Howe, 205; determines to hold him at all hazards, 206, 207; not cast down by loss of Ticonderoga, 207; urges New England to rise, 208; sends all possible troops, 208; refuses to appoint a commander for Northern army, 208; his probable reasons, 209; continues to send suggestions, 210; slighted by Gates after Burgoyne's surrender, 211; rise of opposition in Congress, 212; arouses ill-feeling by his frankness, 212, 213; distrusted by Samuel and John Adams, 214; by others, 214, 215; formation of a plan to supplant him by Gates, 215; opposed by Gates, Mifflin, and Conway, 215, 216; angers Conway by preventing his increase in rank, 216; is refused troops by Gates, 217; defends and loses Delaware forts, 217; refuses to attack Howe, 218; propriety of his action, 219; becomes aware of cabal, 220; alarms them by showing extent of his knowledge, 221; attacked bitterly in Congress, 222; insulted by Gates, 223; refuses to resign, 224; refuses to notice cabal publicly, 224; complains privately of slight support from Pennsylvania, 225; continues to push Gates for explanations, 226; regains complete control after collapse of cabal, 226, 227; withdraws to Valley Forge, 227; desperation of his situation, 228; criticised by Pennsylvania legislature for going into winter quarters, 229; his bitter reply, 229; his unbending resolution, 230; continues to urge improvements in army organization, 231; manages to hold army together, 232; sends Lafayette to watch Philadelphia, 233; determines to fight, 234; checked by Lee, 234; pursues Clinton, 235; orders Lee to attack British rearguard, 235; discovers his force retreating, 236; rebukes Lee and punishes him, 236, 237; takes command and stops retreat, 237; repulses British and assumes offensive, 238; success due to his work at Valley Forge, 239; celebrates French alliance, 241; has to confront difficulty of managing allies, 241, 242; welcomes D'Estaing, 243; obliged to quiet recrimination after Newport failure, 244; his letter to Sullivan, 244; to Lafayette, 245; to D'Estaing, 246; tact and good effect of his letters, 246; offers to cooperate in an attack on New York, 247; furnishes admirable suggestions to D'Estaing, 247; not dazzled by French, 248; objects to giving rank to foreign officers, 248, 249; opposes transfer of Steuben from inspectorship to the line, 249; his thoroughly American position, 250; absence of provinciality, 251, 252; a national leader, 252; opposes invasion of Canada, 253; foresees danger of its recapture by France, 254, 255; his clear understanding of French motives, 255, 256; rejoices in condition of patriot cause, 257; foresees ruin to army in financial troubles, 258; has to appease mutinies among unpaid troops, 258; appeals to Congress, 259; urges election of better delegates to Congress, 259; angry with speculators, 260, 261; futility of his efforts, 261, 262; his increasing alarm at social demoralization, 263; effect of his exertions, 264; conceals his doubts of the French, 264; watches New York, 264; keeps dreading an English campaign, 265; labors with Congress to form a navy, 266; plans expedition to chastise Indians, 266; realizes that things are at a standstill in the North, 267; sees danger to lie in the South, but determines to remain himself near New York, 267; not consulted by Congress in naming general for Southern army, 268; plans attack on Stony Point, 268; hatred of ravaging methods of British warfare, 270; again has great difficulties in winter quarters, 270; unable to act on offensive in the spring, 270, 272; unable to help South, 272; advises abandonment of Charleston, 273; learns of arrival of French army, 274; plans a number of enterprises with it, 275, 276; refuses, even after loss of Charleston, to abandon Hudson, 276; welcomes Rochambeau, 277; writes to Congress against too optimistic feelings, 278, 279; has extreme difficulty in holding army together, 280; urges French to attack New York, 280; sends Maryland troops South after Camden, 281; arranges meeting with Rochambeau at Hartford, 282; popular enthusiasm over him, 283; goes to West Point, 284; surprised at Arnold's absence, 284; learns of his treachery, 284, 285; his cool behavior, 285; his real feelings, 286; his conduct toward André, 287; its justice, 287, 288; his opinion of Arnold, 288, 289; his responsibility in the general breakdown of the Congress and army, 290; obliged to quell food mutinies in army, 291, 292; difficulty of situation, 292; his influence the salvation of army, 293; his greatness best shown in this way, 293; rebukes Congress, 294; appoints Greene to command Southern army, 295; sends Knox to confer with state governors, 296; secures temporary relief for army, 296; sees the real defect is in weak government, 296; urges adoption of Articles of Confederation, 297; works for improvements in executive, 298,299; still keeps a Southern movement in mind, 301; unable to do anything through lack of naval power, 303; rebukes Lund Washington for entertaining British at Mt. Vernon, 303; still unable to fight, 304; tries to frighten Clinton into remaining in New York, 305; succeeds with aid of Rochambeau, 306; explains his plan to French and to Congress, 306; learns of De Grasse's approach, prepares to move South, 306; writes to De Grasse to meet him in Chesapeake, 308; fears a premature peace, 308; pecuniary difficulties, 309; absolute need of command of sea, 310; persuades De Barras to join De Grasse, 311; starts on march for Chesapeake, 311; hampered by lack of supplies, 312;
— from George Washington, Volume I by Henry Cabot Lodge