But the Alban lake, which is self-contained, lying as it does surrounded by fertile hills, began for no reason, except it may be the will of Heaven, to increase in volume and to encroach upon the hillsides near it, until it reached their very tops, rising quietly and without disturbance.
— from Plutarch's Lives, Volume 1 (of 4) by Plutarch

Im sure that queerlooking man in the porkbutchers is a great rogue I hope that lamp is not smoking fill my nose up with smuts better than having him leaving the gas on all night I couldnt rest easy in my bed in Gibraltar even getting up to see why am I so damned nervous about that though I like it in the winter
— from Ulysses by James Joyce

Howsoever most divines contradict it, dicimus inficias, sed vox ea sola reperta est , it must be winked at by politicians.
— from The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton

Both rivers empty into Machias Bay at points quite approximate, through which float the cargoes of industrial wealth to the broad Atlantic and to the various ports of destination.
— from Forest Life and Forest Trees: comprising winter camp-life among the loggers, and wild-wood adventure. with Descriptions of lumbering operations on the various rivers of Maine and New Brunswick by John S. Springer

hat the writers of no other nation would think of accurately transmitting to posterity events, which have only become interesting from the subsequent conquests and extension of the Roman empire, it must be evident, that the materials provided for the work of the historian would necessarily be obscure and uncertain.
— from History of Roman Literature from its Earliest Period to the Augustan Age. Vol. II by John Colin Dunlop

This rule exists in Manjarabad, but I am not aware that any great moral evil arises from it, as a widow can always contract to live with a man, the difference being that the ceremonies performed are of an inferior kind.
— from Gold, Sport, and Coffee Planting in Mysore With chapters on coffee planting in Coorg, the Mysore representative assembly, the Indian congress, caste and the Indian silver question, being the 38 years' experiences of a Mysore planter by Robert H. (Robert Henry) Elliot

Should such a range exist it might be holding undiscovered rich minerals or pasture-lands in its valleys.
— from Spinifex and Sand A Narrative of Five Years' Pioneering and Exploration in Western Ausralia by David Wynford Carnegie

Believe me, I don't rest easy in my bed till Elsass comes after you.
— from Humoresque: A Laugh on Life with a Tear Behind It by Fannie Hurst

Before goodness can reach excellence, it must be rendered habitual.
— from The Nature of Goodness by George Herbert Palmer