We only feel the event, namely, the existence of an idea, consequent to a command of the will: But the manner, in which this operation is performed, the power by which it is produced, is entirely beyond our comprehension.
— from An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding by David Hume

The name signifies place of Ftah , the Egyptian name for Vulcan.
— from The Anabasis of Alexander or, The History of the Wars and Conquests of Alexander the Great by Arrian

Addressing himself by turns to the multitude and to individuals, he sometimes implored their mercy, and sometimes expressed his indignation; conjured them not to sully the fame of their immortal victories; and ventured to promise, that if they would immediately return to their allegiance, he would undertake to obtain from the emperor not only a free and gracious pardon, but even the revocation of the orders which had excited their resentment.
— 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

I at the same time wrote to General Banks informing him of the fall and sending him a copy of the terms; also saying I would send him all the troops he wanted to insure the capture of the only foothold the enemy now had on the Mississippi River.
— from Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant, Complete by Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson) Grant

Herod tells that when a house was on fire the Egyptians never thought of extinguishing the fire until their cats were all saved, and that when a cat died, they shaved their heads in sign of mourning.
— from An Egyptian Princess — Complete by Georg Ebers

They mask their intentions by assuming Swiss names and also by obtaining for their employees naturalization papers in the little republic.
— from England and Germany by Emile Joseph Dillon

Indeed, the association is more close than in countries like England and America, or present-day Russia; since among the aborigines of Formosa there exists no registry office or other place where a civil marriage can be performed.
— from Among the Head-Hunters of Formosa by Janet B. Montgomery McGovern

Maria and Giovanni also, who, at first, had been loath to do so, started on, following the eager Noemi.
— from The Saint by Antonio Fogazzaro

Her husband evidently shared her opinion, from the extraordinary notice he took of it when his wife was not present.
— from The Translation of a Savage, Complete by Gilbert Parker

When our connection with the Salvation Army was finally severed, we found ourselves free to enter new fields.
— from After Prison--What? by Maud Ballington Booth

At length, after I had been aboard about half-an-hour, I was ready to return to our own ship; I therefore ordered two hands down into the boat alongside, and shoved off for the Europa , noting, with great satisfaction as I did so, that the breeze was fast dropping, and that the two Indiamen were still hull-up, not having made very much progress to windward during the time that I had been aboard the prize.
— from A Middy of the King: A Romance of the Old British Navy by Harry Collingwood

Whether there are signs of moribundity or symptomatic evidences of marked growth or of a termination of intellectual regnancy, or whatever may be the occasion for the examination, no surer index than the mathematical may be found for the purpose.
— from The Mystery of Space A Study of the Hyperspace Movement in the Light of the Evolution of New Psychic Faculties and an Inquiry into the Genesis and Essential Nature of Space by Robert T. Browne

There was no lofty object for the eye: neither a tree nor a belfry; only here and there a windmill reared itself aloft with holes in its wings; it was a regular Sukhodól!
— from A Reckless Character, and Other Stories by Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev