After playing a little with the body the shark nonchalantly puts its jaws under it, cautiously touches it with its teeth, and the sailcloth is rent its full length from head to foot; one of the weights falls out and frightens the harbour pilots, and striking the shark on the ribs goes rapidly to the bottom.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of 233 Short Stories of Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

This passage, quoted by Ruskin above, also illustrates what is comparatively rare in figurative language—taking the immaterial to exemplify the material.
— from The Lady of the Lake by Walter Scott

Socrates concludes:— These are the blessings of love, and thus have I made my recantation in finer language than before: I did so in order to please Phaedrus.
— from Phaedrus by Plato

I have myself included an insight into this structure in my plan, but reserved it for later degrees.
— from Secret Societies And Subversive Movements by Nesta Helen Webster

When I got back to my room, I found Le Duc occupied in unpacking my mails; and telling him to give my linen to Madame Dubois, I went into a pretty cabinet adjoining, where there was a desk and all materials necessary for writing.
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova

TO HERMES (12 lines) (ll. 1-9) I sing of Cyllenian Hermes, the Slayer of Argus, lord of Cyllene and Arcadia rich in flocks, luck-bringing messenger of the deathless gods.
— from Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, and Homerica by Hesiod

SALAMANDER, n. Originally a reptile inhabiting fire; later, an anthropomorphous immortal, but still a pyrophile.
— from The Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce

aux langues En 1994, alors qu'il est étudiant en physique, Michael Martin crée une rubrique intitulée Foreign Languages for Travelers sur le site de son université à
— from Entretiens / Interviews / Entrevistas by Marie Lebert

The Bourbon claimant dared not retreat into Aragon, and so passed by Roussillon into France, leaving his rival in possession.
— from The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783 by A. T. (Alfred Thayer) Mahan

Now, what do you think is the reason I feel like that?
— from Anne of Green Gables by L. M. (Lucy Maud) Montgomery

Under his potent agency, the royal power, in the weak hands of Louis the Thirteenth, waxed and strengthened daily, triumphing over the factions of the court, the turbulence of the Huguenots, the ambitious independence of the nobles, and all the elements of anarchy which, since the death of Henry the Fourth, had risen into fresh life.
— from France and England in North America, Part I: Pioneers of France in the New World by Francis Parkman

From this day forward the whole countryside for fifty miles round rang with the tales of what were known as the Blossholme witchings, of which a proof was still to be seen by all men in the withered head of Andrew perched upon its pinnacle, whence none could be found to remove it for love or money.
— from The Lady of Blossholme by H. Rider (Henry Rider) Haggard

Communications Colombia Telephones - main lines in use: 7.936 million (2007) Telephones - mobile cellular: 33.941 million (2007) Telephone system: general assessment: modern system in many respects; telecommunications sector liberalized during the 1990s; multiple providers of both fixed-line and mobile-cellular services; fixed-line connections stand at about 18 per 100 persons; mobile cellular usage is about 75 per 100 persons; competition among cellular service providers is resulting in falling local and international calling rates and contributing to the steep decline in the market share of fixed line services domestic: nationwide microwave radio relay system; domestic satellite system with 41 earth stations; fiber-optic network linking 50 cities international: country code - 57; submarine cables provide links to the US, parts of the Caribbean, and Central and South America; satellite earth stations - 10 (6 Intelsat, 1 Inmarsat, 3 fully digitalized international switching centers) (2007) Radio broadcast stations: AM 454, FM 34, shortwave 27 (1999) Radios: 21 million (1997) Television broadcast stations: 60 (1997) Televisions: 4.59 million (1997) Internet country code: .co Internet hosts: 1.554 million (2008) Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 18 (2000) Internet users: 12.1 million (2007) Transportation Colombia Airports: 934 (2007)
— from The 2008 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency

A conventional disposition of the guests would have reduced the loose elements of the company to some sort of order; the shy country nature would have taken refuge in fixed laws, and found a sense of freedom therein.
— from Joseph and His Friend: A Story of Pennsylvania by Bayard Taylor

The tissue so made is sufficiently tough and enduring, retaining its form long after the animal has died out of it.
— from A Year at the Shore by Philip Henry Gosse

"The brandy's gone to your aunt's head, Ferdy," giggled the barmaid, in no wise disturbed; "take her home, dear boy, else she's bound to be run in, for looking so pretty."
— from The Purple Fern by Fergus Hume

It is ridiculous, in fact, leaving all those beautiful and ingenious helps in housework to the hirelings who work only twice as hard with them for more wages than the hirelings of countries where they don't exist."
— from Imaginary Interviews by William Dean Howells

Down the river it floated, lighting the night with leaping flames.
— from The Bridge of the Gods A Romance of Indian Oregon. 19th Edition. by Frederic Homer Balch

It was an act of private revenge; it fell long out of date in the good days of Dr. Stuebel, and had no result but to discredit the gentleman who volunteered it.
— from A Footnote to History: Eight Years of Trouble in Samoa by Robert Louis Stevenson