When this ram is pulled backward by a great number of men with united force, and then thrust forward by the same men, with a mighty noise, it batters the walls with that iron part which is prominent.
— from The Wars of the Jews; Or, The History of the Destruction of Jerusalem by Flavius Josephus

SYN: Gift, provision, benefit, benefaction, talent, capacity, attainment, qualification.
— from A Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms or, Synonyms and Words of Opposite Meaning by Samuel Fallows

395 [ Contents ] Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson and Co. Edinburgh and London [ Contents ] Table of Contents Preface.
— from Demonology and Devil-lore by Moncure Daniel Conway

In the Civil War, psychological warfare was practised by both Lincoln and the Confederacy in establishing propaganda instrumentalities in England and on the continent of Europe.
— from Psychological Warfare by Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger

‘I’ll have it out of somebody, I tell you,’ said Squeers, his usual harsh crafty manner changed to open bullying ‘None of your whining vapourings here, Mr. Puppy, but be off to your kennel, for it’s past your bedtime! Come!
— from Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens

There was every sort of thing in that fireplace, a brazier, a pot, broken boards, rags suspended from nails, a bird-cage, ashes, and even a little fire.
— from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

Malī puerī esse bonī nōn possunt , bad boys are not able to (or cannot ) be good.
— from Latin for Beginners by Benjamin L. (Benjamin Leonard) D'Ooge

“Imagine for one moment that when H. P. B. began her work in the world she could have shown what is now being done, or that it could be shown to you what will be the outcome of her efforts two hundred years hence, would it not be entirely beyond belief, can you even imagine it?
— from Universal Brotherhood, Volume XIII, No. 11, February 1899 A Magazine Devoted to the Brotherhood of Humanity, the Theosophical Movement, Philosophy, Science and Art by Various

In other words we should conclude that the bright stars seem to be bright to us not because of their proximity but because of their large intrinsic luminosity.
— from Lectures on Stellar Statistics by C. V. L. (Carl Vilhelm Ludwig) Charlier

For a fuller general descriptive account of the district, I may also refer the reader to my own larger book, “Norfolk Broads and Rivers,” published by Blackwood.
— from The Handbook to the Rivers and Broads of Norfolk & Suffolk by G. Christopher (George Christopher) Davies

He went on presently but before he was out of sight Bill Trumbull and Old Peter Endby came up.
— from Green Valley by Katharine Yirsa Reynolds

J. F. Burns, who, at eighty-three years of age, still manifests his old time spirit, being then Sheriff, pursued Buckskin Bill until the twenty-fourth of June.
— from Sixty Years in Southern California, 1853-1913 Containing the Reminiscences of Harris Newmark by Harris Newmark

i. The plates are printed by BEMROSE & SONS, LTD., Derby and London
— from Delacroix by Paul G. (Paul George) Konody

The admirable paper of Mr. Repp, in the same Transactions (to which we have already alluded, and which we recommend to the notice of our antiquarian readers), connects them, as we have before hinted, with another superstition common to many of the northern nations; and which may be compared with one of the articles of popular belief before described, as prevailing in England, on Christmas Eve; that, viz., which seems to imply that the spirits of evil are at this time in peculiar activity, unless kept down by holier and more powerful influences.
— from The Book of Christmas Descriptive of the Customs, Ceremonies, Traditions, Superstitions, Fun, Feeling, and Festivities of the Christmas Season by Thomas K. Hervey

Dumouriez returned, in order to fight a pitched battle before Brussels.
— from A History of Modern Europe, 1792-1878 by Charles Alan Fyffe

What then must have been his surprise when he found the ridge connecting Carmel with the highland of Samaria occupied by a strong body of troops, and his further progress barred by a foe who had appeared to him too insignificant to be taken into account?
— from History of Phoenicia by George Rawlinson

One of the servants, before he fled, went to the stair foot and called to him to tell him that his father lay a-dying of the plague below; but he only laughed, and said it was time he went to the devil, who had been waiting so long for him; and the man rushed out of the house in affright at the sound of such terrible blasphemy and unnatural wickedness at a time like this."
— from In the Days of Chivalry: A Tale of the Times of the Black Prince by Evelyn Everett-Green