“But what is the present state of affairs?” enquired Mr Berners.
— from Sybil, Or, The Two Nations by Disraeli, Benjamin, Earl of Beaconsfield

In the middle of the room a picture stood on an easel, covered over with a shirt whose arms dangled down to the ground.
— from The Trial by Franz Kafka

It is equally absurd to accept as unimpeachable models, Garter plates, seals, or architectural examples unless the purpose and medium—wax, enamel, or stone—in which they are executed is borne in mind, and the knowledge used with due discrimination.
— from A Complete Guide to Heraldry by Arthur Charles Fox-Davies

If now with our conviction that perception is the primary source of all evidence, and that only direct or indirect connection with it is absolute truth; and further, that the shortest way to this is always the surest, as every interposition of concepts means exposure to many deceptions; if, I say, we now turn with this conviction to mathematics, as it was established as a science by Euclid, and has remained as a whole to our own day, we cannot help regarding the method it adopts, as strange and indeed perverted.
— from The World as Will and Idea (Vol. 1 of 3) by Arthur Schopenhauer

Centum ova et unum, quolibet mane sumant ova sorbilia, cum sequenti pulvere supra ovum aspersa, et contineant quousque assumpserint centum et unum, maniacis et melancholicis utilissimum remedium.
— from The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton

The same Penottus speaks of an excellent balm out of Aponensis, which, taken to the quantity of three drops in a cup of wine, [4136] will cause a sudden alteration, drive away dumps, and cheer up the heart.
— from The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton

A will without direction cannot be thwarted; so that inhibition cannot be the primary source of any effort or of any ideal.
— from The Life of Reason: The Phases of Human Progress by George Santayana

It may be suggested, that a people spread over an extensive region cannot, like the crowded inhabitants of a small district, be subject to the infection of violent passions, or to the danger of combining in pursuit of unjust measures.
— from The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton

This confirms the view already expressed of the impolicy and impropriety of placing such onerous and extra-judicial duties upon the justices.
— from The History of Prostitution: Its Extent, Causes, and Effects throughout the World by William W. Sanger

And as a religious system is based on the contemporary phase of scientific development, so the political system of an epoch corresponds to the religious system.
— from The Idea of Progress: An Inguiry into Its Origin and Growth by J. B. (John Bagnell) Bury

Not being able by any endeavour'—(here a nautical phrase scratched out, and 'endeavour' substituted)—'of mine to be up to time, and as these are P.P. affairs, I must only forfeit.
— from Wylder's Hand by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

It seems also very well adapted to the genius of our language, which, from its irregularity of inflexion and number of monosyllables, abounds in diversified terminations, and consequently renders our poetry susceptible of an endless variety of legitimate rhymes.
— from The Poetical Works of James Beattie by James Beattie

Food introduced into the stomach of a hibernating animal, or reptile, by force or artificial means, will be found undigested at all stages of its lethargy, for it invariably goes into its peculiar state on an empty stomach.
— from Birds and All Nature, Vol. 5, No. 2, February 1899 Illustrated by Color Photography by Various

The terrible conflict raged for the most part simultaneously over an enormously extended front, and an adequate description can only be given by following in turn the fortunes of the separate Japanese armies.
— from The Japan-Russia War: An Illustrated History of the War in the Far East by Sydney Tyler

At the opposite side of the tree, facing the almost unrecognizable head of the bird, a personage stands on an elaborately carved monstrous head, covered with a maize-plant.
— from The Fundamental Principles of Old and New World Civilizations A Comparative Research Based on a Study of the Ancient Mexican Religious, Sociological, and Calendrical Systems by Zelia Nuttall

It has brought many criminals to justice; but I do not defend the fourth degree , which is the name I use, for the lack of a better one, to describe the present state of affairs existing in the office of the public prosecutor.
— from The Room with the Little Door by Roland Burnham Molineux

With a perfect scheme of attack, every detail of which had been long thought out, and which worked without a hitch, the Kaiser's forces were awaiting the word of command to march onward—to Paris.
— from The Great War in England in 1897 by William Le Queux

In the front portion many large rocks are lying on the surface of the clay floor and others are imbedded in it; probably still others are entirely covered.
— from Archeological Investigations Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 76 by Gerard Fowke