My great work goeth forward; and after my manner, I alter even when I add; so that nothing is finished till all be finished.
— from Bacon's Essays, and Wisdom of the Ancients by Francis Bacon

Vulcan and Minerva are said to have been the parents of Ericthonius king of Athens, in whose last years Joshua the son of Nun is found to have died.
— from The City of God, Volume II by Augustine, Saint, Bishop of Hippo

I have loved and love Spinelloccio as a brother, and yesterday, albeit he knoweth it not, I found that the trust I had in him was come to this, that he lieth with my wife even as with thee.
— from The Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio by Giovanni Boccaccio

The British emperor defended the frontiers of his dominions against the Caledonians of the North, invited, from the continent, a great number of skilful artists, and displayed, on a variety of coins that are still extant, his taste and opulence.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Table of Contents with links in the HTML file to the two Project Gutenberg editions (12 volumes) by Edward Gibbon

Robert had no inclination for the wine-bibbing and the punch-making.
— from Lady Audley's Secret by M. E. (Mary Elizabeth) Braddon

Paknam is the Sebastopol or Cronstadt of the Kings of Siam; nevertheless, I fancied that a European squadron could easily master it, and that the commander, after breakfasting there, might dine the same day at Bangkok.
— from Travels in the Central Parts of Indo-China (Siam), Cambodia, and Laos (Vol. 1 of 2) During the Years 1858, 1859, and 1860 by Henri Mouhot

Co: She fables not, I feel that I do fear 800 Her words set off by som superior power; And though not mortal, yet a cold shuddring dew Dips me all o're, as when the wrath of Jove Speaks thunder, and the chains of Erebus To som of Saturns crew.
— from The Poetical Works of John Milton by John Milton

Nevertheless I felt that I must practice restraint that evening, and she let me see that she was obliged to me.
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova

Netting insertion —For the netting: Cordonnet 6 fils D.M.C No. 40 white or écru. —For the embroidery: Ganse turque D.M.C Nos. 6 and 12.
— from Encyclopedia of Needlework by Thérèse de Dillmont

Now I fancied that he was seriously enamoured of my beauty, and I thought that I should therefore have a grand opportunity of hearing him tell what he knew, for I had a wonderful opinion of the attractions of my youth.
— from Symposium by Plato

None of the furniture which we so fondly ascribed to his name is from the designs figured in his book, his use of brilliant metal mounts is practically unknown among us.
— from The Old Furniture Book, with a Sketch of Past Days and Ways by N. Hudson Moore

A picture of the woman of the slums and the neglected infant flashed through Geoffrey's mind.
— from Much Ado About Something by C. E. (Charles Edward) Lawrence

This question carried neither challenge nor imputation, for, the times being troubled, no man could be certain that he met a friend on the highway until some declaration was forthcoming.
— from Over the Border: A Romance by Robert Barr

You would not have us go on to the lake before we know whether the tribe is not in force there.
— from The Squatter's Dream: A Story of Australian Life by Rolf Boldrewood

A thought like this, about the Priestly Sham-Hierarchies, I have found somewhere in Voltaire: but of the Social and Civic Sham-Hierarchies (which are likewise accursed, if they knew it, and indeed are junior co-partners of the Priestly; and, in a sense, sons and products of them, and cannot escape being partakers of their plagues), there is no hint, in Voltaire, though Voltaire stood at last only fifteen years from the Fact (1778-1793); nor in Friedrich, though he lived almost to see the Fact beginning.
— from History of Friedrich II of Prussia — Volume 21 by Thomas Carlyle

"O they do look lovely," said Louise, glancing at herself, admiringly in the mirror, why could not I fix them so?"
— from Little Wolf: A Tale of the Western Frontier by Mary Ann Mann Cornelius

Men of your calibre will do anything for filthy lucre—you old and cunning reptile!”—he mentions that he has not, personally, profited a penny by anything in this volume, and that the future proceeds therefrom will be given to St. Dunstan’s, and the National Institute for the Blind, London.
— from A Sheaf by John Galsworthy

Very fitly therefore I assert that every man is a partialist, that nature secures him as an instrument by self-conceit, preventing the tendencies to religion and science; and now further assert, that, each man's genius being nearly and affectionately explored, he is justified in his individuality, as his nature is found to be immense; and now I add that every man is a universalist also, and, as our earth, whilst it spins on its own axis, spins all the time around the sun through the celestial spaces, so the least of its rational children, the most dedicated to his private affair, works out, though as it were under a disguise, the universal problem.
— from Essays — Second Series by Ralph Waldo Emerson

His steps, when directed towards the abode of learning, are not remarkable, generally, for rapidity; and are very apt to be arrested by a variety of little occurrences; in short, he has a strong natural inclination for the philosophical amusement improperly termed lounging .
— from Portraits of Children of the Mobility by Percival Leigh