If there were no other fact descriptive of slavery, than that the slave is dumb, this alone would be sufficient to mark the slave system as a grand aggregation of human horrors.
— from My Bondage and My Freedom by Frederick Douglass

To whom our Saviour with unalter'd brow Thy coming hither, though I know thy scope, I bid not or forbid; do as thou find'st Permission from above; thou canst not more.
— from The Poetical Works of John Milton by John Milton

Whereupon he lets him know, that if this be what he expects, he is a foolish man, and like one who leans on a broken reed; while such a one will not only fall down, but will have his hand pierced and hurt by it.
— from Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus

Niccola was present at the first foundation of the Duomo of Siena, and designed the Church of S. Giovanni in the same city; then, having returned to Florence in the same year that the Guelphs returned, he designed the Church of S. Trinita, and the Convent of the Nuns of Faenza, destroyed in our day in order to make the citadel.
— from Lives of the Most Eminent Painters Sculptors and Architects, Vol. 01 (of 10) Cimabue to Agnolo Gaddi by Giorgio Vasari

The Appian way, a march of forty days, was covered by the Barbarians; and as the prudence of Belisarius declined a battle, he preferred the safe and speedy navigation of five days from the coast of Epirus to the mouth of the Tyber.
— 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

After he had in divers ways studied amain to recover the love himseemed he had lost without his fault and finding all his labour vain, he resolved to withdraw from the world, that he might not afford her who was the cause of his ill the pleasure of seeing him pine away; wherefore, without saying aught to friend or kinsman, save to a comrade of his, who knew all, he took such monies as he might avail to have and departing secretly, came to Ancona, where, under the name of Filippo di Sanlodeccio, he made acquaintance with a rich merchant and taking service with him, accompanied him to Cyprus on board a ship of his.
— from The Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio by Giovanni Boccaccio

[219] Such thoughts as these, says M. Janet, "are known by no one , for disaggregated sensations reduced to a state of mental dust are not synthetized in any personality."
— from The Principles of Psychology, Volume 1 (of 2) by William James

As an orthodox Jew he visited Benveniste ibn Laki, of Saragossa, and other prominent Jews; but in 1391 he embraced Christianity, taking the name of Francisco Dias Corni, and endeavoured to convert his former Jewish friends, among them, En Shealticel Bonfos (Gräetz viii. 85).
— from Some Jewish Witnesses For Christ by Aaron Bernstein

Now one fell directly before me, and impeded my progress.
— from The Cruise of the Mary Rose; Or, Here and There in the Pacific by William Henry Giles Kingston

"Thou knowest not!" said the hermit sternly; "it is not only from death I wish to save thee, but from worse than death; I tell thee I—" He checked himself, as if fearful of saying too much, and bent his eyes searchingly into those of Jean, who murmured simply, "I am resolved."
— from The Forest of Vazon A Guernsey Legend of the Eighth Century by Anonymous

Just as these words were uttered, and most fortunately for Ben, a number of friends dropped in to see him, and the would-be murderers cleared out.
— from The Life and Adventures of Ben Hogan, the Wickedest Man in the World by Ben (Benedict) Hogan

As the number of farms decreases, the number of salaried laborers must increase, and as this floating population increases, there is also a tendency for crime to increase, as the man who has no responsibilities as a proprietor of land often lacks the fundamental stimulus to make him observe the laws of his country.
— from Social Problems in Porto Rico by Fred K. Fleagle

'What in the name of fortune did he do that for?'
— from Robert Elsmere by Ward, Humphry, Mrs.

Then Wainamoinen replied: 'No one from dismal Northland can harm us of Kalevala, Only Ukko rules the fate of peoples, and he will guard my crops from frost and hail, and my cattle from the bear, Otso.
— from Finnish Legends for English Children by R. Eivind

Sergeant Glynne's son, Sir William, the first baronet, when he came into possession, was seized with the unaccountable notion of further destroying the old Castle, and by the end of the seventeenth century very little remained beyond what stands to-day.
— from The Grand Old Man Or, the Life and Public Services of the Right Honorable William Ewart Gladstone, Four Times Prime Minister of England by Richard B. (Richard Briscoe) Cook

Although this is rather an elaborate menu, there is no sherbet in it on account of the watermelon, which is better if no other frozen dish is used with it.
— from Gala-Day Luncheons: A Little Book of Suggestions by Caroline French Benton

If you know anyone who is always in demand, not only for dinners, but for trips on private cars and yachts, and long visits in country houses, you may be very sure of one thing: the popular person is first of all unselfish or else extremely gifted; very often both.
— from Etiquette by Emily Post