And when he said it was Horatio Fizkin, Esquire, of Fizkin Lodge, near Eatanswill, the Fizkinites applauded, and the Slumkeyites groaned, so long, and so loudly, that both he and the seconder might have sung comic songs in lieu of speaking, without anybody’s being a bit the wiser.
— from The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens

Then, since the private condition is naturally exposed to fears and alarms, the people invest him with many powers, and these are continued in his hands.
— from Cicero's Tusculan Disputations Also, Treatises On The Nature Of The Gods, And On The Commonwealth by Marcus Tullius Cicero

To an objection so little precise in itself, it is not easy to find a very precise answer.
— from The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton

Even after one instance or experiment where we have observed a particular event to follow upon another, we are not entitled to form a general rule, or foretell what will happen in like cases; it being justly esteemed an unpardonable temerity to judge of the whole course of nature from one single experiment, however accurate or certain.
— from An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding by David Hume

I confess that I do not entertain that firm and complete attachment to the liberty of the press which things that are supremely good in their very nature are wont to excite in the mind; and I approve of it more from a recollection of the evils it prevents than from a consideration of the advantages it ensures.
— from Democracy in America — Volume 1 by Alexis de Tocqueville

It is not easy to find a test by which to judge whether a belief of this kind is reasonable or not, but we can at least ascertain what sort of general beliefs would suffice, if true, to justify the judgement that the sun will rise to-morrow, and the many other similar judgements upon which our actions are based.
— from The Problems of Philosophy by Bertrand Russell

As he said this he shook his head, made some grimaces, and held his peace, while all the company seemed of his opinion, except the Cardinal, who said, ‘That it was not easy to form a judgment of its success, since it was a method that never yet had been tried; but if,’ said he, ‘when sentence of death were passed upon a thief, the prince would reprieve him for a while, and make the experiment upon him, denying him the privilege of a sanctuary; and then, if it had a good effect upon him, it might take place; and, if it did not succeed, the worst would be to execute the sentence on the condemned persons at last; and I do not see,’ added he, ‘why it would be either unjust, inconvenient, or at all dangerous to admit of such a delay; in my opinion the vagabonds ought to be treated in the same manner, against whom, though we have made many laws, yet we have not been able to gain our end.’
— from Utopia by More, Thomas, Saint

how the man wandered from one to another of his old haunts, with a half-consciousness of bidding them farewell,—lanes and alleys and back-yards where the mill-hands lodged,—noting, with a new eagerness, the filth and drunkenness, the pig-pens, the ash-heaps covered with potato-skins, the bloated, pimpled women at the doors, with a new disgust, a new sense of sudden triumph, and, under all, a new, vague dread, unknown before, smothered down, kept under, but still there?
— from Life in the Iron-Mills; Or, The Korl Woman by Rebecca Harding Davis

She endeavoured to withdraw her thoughts from the anxiety, that preyed upon them, but they refused controul; she could neither read, or draw, and the tones of her lute were so utterly discordant with the present state of her feelings, that she could not endure them for a moment.
— from The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Ward Radcliffe

Others at a distance may not enjoy this facility, and for these the accompanying diagrams may be a slight compensation.
— from Snakes: Curiosities and Wonders of Serpent Life by Catherine Cooper Hopley

The diverse action taken by fire in legends can be comprehended by reference to the solar hero, now in the morning, now in the evening, now in spring, now in autumn: in the morning and in the spring the serpent of night enters the flames and becomes a handsome youth again; in the evening and in the autumn the serpent comes out of the flames of the evening aurora, or of the summer, and becomes the moon, after having made the sun disappear, or rendered it invisible or invulnerable.
— from Zoological Mythology; or, The Legends of Animals, Volume 2 (of 2) by Angelo De Gubernatis

In obedience to orders, Sir Robert had advanced within twelve miles of the capital before he was recalled, and after narrowly escaping the French armies, by the ill-judged retirement of the Spanish general from Talavera, he found himself completely cut off from the Tagus.
— from The Battles of the British Army Being a Popular Account of All the Principal Engagements During the Last Hundred Years by Robert Melvin Blackwood

But what the Spanish ambassador did not know, nor the Nuncius, nor even the friendly Aerssens, was the vast amount of supplies which had been prepared for the coming conflict by the finance minister.
— from PG Edition of Netherlands series — Complete by John Lothrop Motley

Until, with the progress of spring, air and water have grown warm, and the bright sunshine brings on the natural ephemeridae, the fish are usually ground-feeding, or feeding in mid-water, and will rise only infrequently to the fly fished upon the surface.
— from Fishing with Floating Flies by Samuel G. (Samuel Granger) Camp

Owing to the antiquity of the first issue of Nesbitt dies, collectors must not expect to find an abundance of mint specimens.
— from The Die Varieties of the Nesbitt Series of United States Envelopes by Victor Maximilian Berthold

It is not easy to find a suitable one, but Our Lord will help us.
— from Selected Letters of Saint Jane Frances de Chantal by Chantal, Jeanne-Françoise de, Saint

With pleasant weather and no enemy to fear, an abundance of the most excellent meat, and no scarcity of bread or tobacco, they were enjoying the oasis of a voyageur's life.
— from The Exploring Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, Oregon and California To which is Added a Description of the Physical Geography of California, with Recent Notices of the Gold Region from the Latest and Most Authentic Sources by John Charles Frémont

The mother had had the desire to return this small sum, with the shrewd reply that, perhaps, the subordinate employed had not enclosed the full amount determined on by the princess; but she did not do it; one must not offend these high personages; one must even return humble thanks, in order not to forfeit their unsubstantial good-will.
— from Villa Eden: The Country-House on the Rhine by Berthold Auerbach