I have attempted to show that the geological record is extremely imperfect; that only a small portion of the globe has been geologically explored with care; that only certain classes of organic beings have been largely preserved in a fossil state; that the number both of specimens and of species, preserved in our museums, is absolutely as nothing compared with the incalculable number of generations which must have passed away even during a single formation; that, owing to subsidence being necessary for the accumulation of fossiliferous deposits thick enough to resist future degradation, enormous intervals of time have elapsed between the successive formations; that there has probably been more extinction during the periods of subsidence, and more variation during the periods of elevation, and during the latter the record will have been least perfectly kept; that each single formation has not been continuously deposited; that the duration of each formation is, perhaps, short compared with the average duration of specific forms; that migration has played an important part in the first appearance of new forms in any one area and formation; that widely ranging species are those which have varied most, and have oftenest given rise to new species; and that varieties have at first often been local.
— from On the Origin of Species By Means of Natural Selection Or, the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life by Charles Darwin

It was not even, as might be at first supposed, an extreme condition, or exaggeration of such propensity, but primarily and essentially distinct and different.
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven Edition Table Of Contents And Index Of The Five Volumes by Edgar Allan Poe

During the same summer, a cohort of Usipii, 107 which had been levied in Germany, and sent over into Britain, performed an extremely daring and memorable action.
— from The Germany and the Agricola of Tacitus by Cornelius Tacitus

The ease with which, by Page 116 {116} the employment of these conditions, a new coat can be based upon an old one which shall leave three original charges in the same position, and upon a field of the original tincture, and yet shall produce an entirely different and distinct coat of arms, has led to this particular form being constantly repeated in modern grants.
— from A Complete Guide to Heraldry by Arthur Charles Fox-Davies

We upset them all, broke up the carriages, threw the shot and shell into the sea, burned the powder, and even dragged a couple of guns down on to the beach.
— from A Diplomat in Japan The inner history of the critical years in the evolution of Japan when the ports were opened and the monarchy restored, recorded by a diplomatist who took an active part in the events of the time, with an account of his personal experiences during that period by Ernest Mason Satow

I wrapped up the pike in paper and put it in the back of the Bible, taking care that it projected an equal distance at each end.
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova

Meanwhile Sitalces opened negotiations with Perdiccas on the objects of his expedition; and finding that the Athenians, not believing that he would come, did not appear with their fleet, though they sent presents and envoys, dispatched a large part of his army against the Chalcidians and Bottiaeans, and shutting them up inside their walls laid waste their country.
— from The History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides

On rising I saw that there was a wetness streaked with blood all over my cock and cods; boylike, the sight of blood frightened me, and I began to cry, she wiped it all off, and skinned back my prick to wipe under it but here the raw surface made it painful, and even drew a show of blood; previously my foreskin had been attached to the projecting edge of the nut, her action of sinking on it had torn it off and forced it down on the shaft, doubtless this is the maidenhead of a boy, and hence the first smarting pain and the slight loss of blood that followed.
— from The Romance of Lust: A classic Victorian erotic novel by Anonymous

The press now has to confront all the Internet's resources: - instant access to many information servers; - speed in information dissemination; - development of main photographic archives; - gigantic documentation capacity (geographical maps, biographical notes, official texts, political and economic documents, audiovisual and video documents, etc.) going from the general to the specialized and vice versa; - links to all these information sources and other articles on the same topic; and - archives equipped with a search engine allowing the retrieval of articles by date, author, title, subject, etc.
— from From the Print Media to the Internet by Marie Lebert

Unless the platter be very large, provide an extra dish, also a fork for serving.
— from Carving and Serving by Mary J. (Mary Johnson) Lincoln

Ethiopia grew more powerful as Egypt declined, and threatened ere long to establish a preponderating influence over the entire Nile valley.
— from Ancient Egypt by George Rawlinson

Her behavior on the track and her treatment of the horse-dealer were by this time common property, and every dealer and fancier made a mental note that Lady Clare was the number in the catalogue which he would not bid on.
— from Boyhood in Norway: Stories of Boy-Life in the Land of the Midnight Sun by Hjalmar Hjorth Boyesen

'Perhaps we shall never meet again,' said Bruce pleasantly, as Edith, Dilly and the nurse were starting; 'either the Zeppelins may come while you're away, or they may set your hotel at Eastcliff on fire.
— from Love at Second Sight by Ada Leverson

Benton was one of those who were present and escaped death at the time of the terrible accident on board the Princeton, during Tyler's administration, when the bursting of her great gun killed so many prominent men.
— from Thomas Hart Benton by Theodore Roosevelt

Character of the Roman Burgess-Body Whatever could be demanded of an assembly of burgesses like the Roman, which was not the moving spring, but the firm foundation, of the whole machinery—a sure perception of the common good, a sagacious deference towards the right leader, a steadfast spirit in prosperous and evil days, and, above all, the capacity of sacrificing the individual for the general welfare and the comfort of the present for the advantage of the future—all these qualities the Roman community exhibited in so high a degree that, when we look to its conduct as a whole, all censure is lost in reverent admiration.
— from The History of Rome (Volumes 1-5) by Theodor Mommsen

CHAPTER XIII Battle of Sailor's Creek, April 6th—Capitulation of General Robert E. Lee's Army at Appomattox Court-House, April 9, 1865—Surrender of Other Confederate Armies, and End of the War of the Rebellion Richmond and Petersburg having been evacuated, the Army of the Potomac, at early dawn, April 3, 1865, under orders, marched westward.
— from Slavery and Four Years of War, Vol. 1-2 A Political History of Slavery in the United States Together With a Narrative of the Campaigns and Battles of the Civil War In Which the Author Took Part: 1861-1865 by Joseph Warren Keifer

The former was to prepare an address which Nero might, if necessary, pronounce before the Senate; the latter was to repair to the Palace at earliest dawn and await the issue of events.
— from Darkness and Dawn; Or, Scenes in the Days of Nero. An Historic Tale by F. W. (Frederic William) Farrar

The Hoplites, or heavy-armed infantry of historical Greece, maintained a close order and well-dressed line, charging the enemy with their spears protended at even distance, and coming thus to close conflict without breaking their rank: there were special troops, bowmen, slingers, etc. armed with missiles, but the hoplite had no weapon to employ in this manner.
— from History of Greece, Volume 02 (of 12) by George Grote