When a man is gone, all are wont to praise him, and should your merit be ever so transcendent, you will still find it difficult not merely to overtake, but even to approach their renown.
— from The History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides

One fine morning Polzuhin himself, a stout young man with a close-shaven face like a jockey’s, in a new black suit, made his appearance. . .
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of 233 Short Stories of Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

This lasted perhaps half a second, yet he distinctly remembered hearing the beginning of the wail, the strange, dreadful wail, which burst from his lips of its own accord, and which no effort of will on his part could suppress.
— from The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

[meaning the watch that he had said had been placed over the sepulchre] came into the city, and shawed unto the chief priests all the things that were done; and when they were assembled with the elders and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, saying, Say ye, that his disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept; and if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him, and secure you.
— from The Writings of Thomas Paine — Volume 4 (1794-1796): The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine

Truly, the priest had argued shrewdly, yet Gordon refused to admit that Constance could be deceived for long.
— from The Undercurrent by Robert Grant

Perhaps,” he added slowly, “you’ll read me a bit out o’ the Book .”
— from The Story of the Rock by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne

If by chance some one among them allows himself to preach that morality and virtue which is practical, human, and social, you know, Madam, that he is proscribed by his confederates, and becomes an object of their acrimonious criticisms and their deadly hatred.
— from Letters to Eugenia; Or, A Preservative Against Religious Prejudices by Holbach, Paul Henri Thiry, baron d'

"To work, comrades," cried the captain of the band; "you, my Pedro, have ably spun yon fiery coxcomb, but more remains to be done.
— from The Weird of the Wentworths: A Tale of George IV's Time, Vol. 2 by Johannes Scotus

The field was parti-colored, for the dull, dark green had changed to a dingy, sapless hue, and the riper patches had a sickly yellow tinge instead of a coppery gleam.
— from The Girl from Keller's by Harold Bindloss

The poem has a simple yet majestic structure, with a refrain apt to linger in the ear, either in Greek or English, Εὐλογεῖτε, ὑμνεῖτε, καὶ ὑπρυψοῦτε αὐτὸν εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας , "Bless ye the Lord, praise Him, and magnify Him for ever."
— from The Three Additions to Daniel, a Study by William Heaford Daubney

I thought it would please her and save you half the secretarial labour; and now it appears that you like the secretarial labour!"
— from Nicky-Nan, Reservist by Arthur Quiller-Couch

I can see you so exactly, with your pretty, little, grave face, and your eyes that have such a fatal aptitude for tears, and your solemn little views about matrimony and its responsibilities, making yourself quite odious to this mirthful Apollo of yours, and innocently believing all the while that you are pleasing Heaven and saving your own dignity by being so remarkably unpleasant!
— from A Rainy June, and Other Stories by Ouida