'Tis no less, I tell ye; for the bawdy hand of the dial is now upon the prick of noon.
— from The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Consequently their assurance, that they do not understand the philosophic writer, instead of proving any thing against the philosophy, may furnish an equal, and (caeteris paribus) even a stronger presumption against their own philosophic talent.
— from Biographia Literaria by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

and each in his turn repeats the same down to the least distended, leakiest, and flabbiest paunched, that there be no mistake; and then the howl goes round again and again, until the sun disperses the morning mist, and only the patriarch is not under the pond, but vainly bellowing troonk from time to time, and pausing for a reply.
— from Walden, and On The Duty Of Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau

Philosophy replies that this only seems so because we do not understand the principles of God's moral governance.—CH.
— from The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius

Every judicial sentence was subject to an appeal to arms—a court, as it were, of higher instance, namely, the Judgment of God : and this really meant that physical strength and activity, that is, our animal nature, usurped the place of reason on the judgment seat, deciding in matters of right and wrong, not by what a man had done, but by the force with which he was opposed, the same system, in fact, as prevails to-day under the principles of knightly honor.
— from The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer: the Wisdom of Life by Arthur Schopenhauer

The natives use the plant to intoxicate the fish in ponds and sluggish streams.
— from The Medicinal Plants of the Philippines by T. H. (Trinidad Hermenegildo) Pardo de Tavera

When now unto that portion of mine age I saw myself arrived, when each one ought To lower the sails, and coil away the ropes, That which before had pleased me then displeased me; And penitent and confessing I surrendered, Ah woe is me!
— from Divine Comedy, Longfellow's Translation, Hell by Dante Alighieri

I might have been too reserved, and should have patronized her more (though I did not use that precise word in my meditations) with my confidence.
— from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

They could not understand the primary law of savage life: that if a man do you a wrong, his whole tribe is responsible—each individual of it—and you may take your change out of any individual of it, without bothering to seek out the guilty one.
— from Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World by Mark Twain

Non, nous utilisons très peu de papier.
— from Entretiens / Interviews / Entrevistas by Marie Lebert

Now that she was going from me, I thought if I should die before she returned, she might hear my story from some one who did not understand the palliating circumstances; and that if she were entirely ignorant on the subject, her sensitive nature might receive a rude shock.
— from Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself by Harriet A. (Harriet Ann) Jacobs

Guesses about appearances—that's books—from novels up to philosophy.
— from The Great Miss Driver by Anthony Hope

Its stem grows shorter and the top flattens until, at an elevation of about 9,000 feet, the branches are spread upon the ground, so that not unfrequently the pedestrian finds his best path upon the tree-tops.
— from The Chautauquan, Vol. 05, July 1885, No. 10 by Chautauqua Institution

"In as many parts, Mr. Effingham, as there are denominations in the neighbourhood, giving a decided preference to New St. Paul's, notwithstanding, under the peculiar circumstances, particularly to the windows.
— from Home as Found Sequel to "Homeward Bound" by James Fenimore Cooper

No unimped triumphal progress can be claimed for the various claviers or keyboard instruments that came into use.
— from For Every Music Lover A Series of Practical Essays on Music by Aubertine Woodward Moore

"You could not understand the processes involved.
— from The Reluctant Weapon by Howard L. Myers

Lord Acton gave very interesting arguments in favor of Napoleon, while I did my best in favor of Caesar; my argument being that the system which Caesar founded maintained the Roman Empire during nearly fifteen hundred years after his death; that its fundamental ideas and features have remained effective in various great nations until the present day; and that they have in our own century shown themselves more vigorous than ever.
— from Autobiography of Andrew Dickson White — Volume 2 by Andrew Dickson White

Zinc has been used in marine boilers for many years, but it was not until the publication in 1880 of the report of the Admiralty committee that the use of zinc became general.
— from Maxims and Instructions for the Boiler Room Useful to Engineers, Firemen & Mechanics; Relating to Steam Generators, Pumps, Appliances, Steam Heating, Practical Plumbing, etc. by N. (Nehemiah) Hawkins

This observation produced immediate effect, and an army of 5000 Spartans and 35,000 Helots was instantly despatched, though not until the Persian invasion had again compelled the Athenians to remove their families and effects to Salamis.
— from Historical Parallels, vol. 2 of 3) by Arthur Thomas Malkin