[“Like one who, desiring to stay an impending ruin, places various props against it, till, in a short time, the house, the props, and all, giving way, fall together.
— from Essays of Michel de Montaigne — Complete by Michel de Montaigne

return Footnote 3: William Penkethman was a low comedian dear to the gallery at Drury Lane as 'Pinkey,' very popular also as a Booth Manager at Bartholomew Fair.
— from The Spectator, Volume 1 Eighteenth-Century Periodical Essays by Steele, Richard, Sir

35 Quare suscipienda quidem bella sunt ob eam causam, ut sine iniuria in pace vivatur, parta autem victoria conservandi ii, qui non crudeles in bello, non immanes fuerunt, ut maiores nostri Tusculanos, Aequos, Volscos, Sabinos, Hernicos in civitatem etiam acceperunt, at Carthaginem et Numantiam funditus sustulerunt; nollem Corinthum, sed credo aliquid secutos, opportunitatem loci maxime, ne posset aliquando ad bellum faciendum locus ipse adhortari.
— from De Officiis by Marcus Tullius Cicero

The promises of this world are, for the most part, vain phantoms; and to confide in one's self, and become something of worth and value, is the best and safest course.
— from Dictionary of Quotations from Ancient and Modern, English and Foreign Sources Including Phrases, Mottoes, Maxims, Proverbs, Definitions, Aphorisms, and Sayings of Wise Men, in Their Bearing on Life, Literature, Speculation, Science, Art, Religion, and Morals, Especially in the Modern Aspects of Them by Wood, James, Rev.

He received the paper very peevishly, and was about to crumple it, apparently to throw it in the fire, when a casual glance at the design seemed suddenly to rivet his attention.
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 1 by Edgar Allan Poe

The minute and laborious diligence which explored the antiquities of remote times might have improved or adorned the present state of society, the critic and metaphysician were the slaves of Aristotle; the poets, historians, and orators, were proud to repeat the thoughts and words of the Augustan age: the works of nature were observed with the eyes of Pliny and Theophrastus; and some Pagan votaries professed a secret devotion to the gods of Homer and Plato.
— 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

" 3. M. de Montalembert, in the Chamber of Peers, vehemently protested against the assimilation of authors to inventors of machinery; an assimilation which he claimed to be injurious to the former.
— from What is Property? An Inquiry into the Principle of Right and of Government by P.-J. (Pierre-Joseph) Proudhon

Lord Alvanley's wit made the party very pleasant, as well as the kind reception of my friends the Misses Arden.
— from The Journal of Sir Walter Scott From the Original Manuscript at Abbotsford by Walter Scott

It is a land of sugar-cane, yams, and sweet potatoes, very prolific, and very easily tilled.
— from Equatorial America Descriptive of a Visit to St. Thomas, Martinique, Barbadoes, and the Principal Capitals of South America by Maturin Murray Ballou

Here is calling and crying, Lust and longing for pride of place, vanity, pomp, and the strain of strife; Here in the City sobs arise from the battered hosts of the falling and dying, Who know not Peace, nor the End of Peace; who know not Life, nor the End of Life.
— from Cornish Catches, and Other Verses by Bernard Moore

The particle va placed after a sentence confirms what has been said before, as one might boast of making a prediction; e.g., fune va cuchinotçu ie iru va 'the ship calls at Kuchinotsu; and, if he says so or not, I say so,' aru va 'see if it is not as I have said.'
— from Diego Collado's Grammar of the Japanese Language by Diego Collado

"You will do no such thing," said the spy in a low piercing voice, producing a Browning pistol and clapping it to his head.
— from With Haig on the Somme by D. H. Parry

Further, it was observed, that every argument, which might be adduced in favor of withdrawing the privilege from the members of Congress, might be used with equal force in the cases of President, Vice President, and every other public officer, mentioned in the same section.
— from Abridgment of the Debates of Congress, from 1789 to 1856, Vol. 1 (of 16) by United States. Congress

[Pg vii] PREFACE AND EXPLANATION.
— from The Illustrated Self-Instructor in Phrenology and Physiology by O. S. (Orson Squire) Fowler