It is through its very incompleteness that art becomes complete in beauty, and so addresses itself, not to the faculty of recognition nor to the faculty of reason, but to the æsthetic sense alone, which, while accepting both reason and recognition as stages of apprehension, subordinates them both to a pure synthetic impression of the work of art as a whole, and, taking whatever alien emotional elements the work may possess, uses their very complexity as a means by which a richer unity may be added to the ultimate impression itself.
— from Intentions by Oscar Wilde

She knew that to utter such a complaint I would have to acknowledge myself weaker or less courageous than she was, and she relied upon my being ashamed to make such a confession.
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova

You that did void your rheum upon my beard And foot me as you spurn a stranger cur Over your threshold; moneys is your suit.
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare

You say so: You that did void your rheum upon my beard, And foot me as you spurn a stranger cur Over your threshold; moneys is your suit.
— from The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare

Then my blood began to curdle and cold chills ran up my back and liked it
— from You Can Search Me by George V. (George Vere) Hobart

Well then, it now appears you need my help: Go to, then; you come to me, and you say, 'Shylock, we would have moneys:' you say so You that did void your rheum upon my beard And foot me as you spurn a stranger cur Over your threshold: moneys is your suit.
— from The Man Shakespeare and His Tragic Life Story by Frank Harris

[Pg 283] When this was determined they agreed, after a consultation, not to return to their hiding-places near Thebes that night, but to lie down under some trees by the roadside until morning broke, and then to examine the road carefully.
— from The Cat of Bubastes: A Tale of Ancient Egypt by G. A. (George Alfred) Henty

Moreover, I have felt obliged to tell them that the service, such as it is, especially as regards ambassadors and ministers, is a service with a property qualification; that it is not a democratic service resting upon merit, but an aristocratic service resting largely upon wealth,—a very important—indeed, essential—qualification for it being that any American who serves as ambassador must, as a rule, be able to expend, in addition to his salary, at least from twelve to twenty thousand dollars a year, and that the demands upon ministers plenipotentiary are but little less.
— from Autobiography of Andrew Dickson White — Volume 2 by Andrew Dickson White

"So the next day I rolls up my blankets and hits the trail away from New York City."
— from Sixes and Sevens by O. Henry

I thought maybe Miss Sterling was just learning to keep house and cook—that rabbit would surely make you think so—and I says to myself, 'Little lady, sugar or no sugar I'll stand by you,' and I raises up my bowl again and drinks the last drop of the lemonade.
— from Sixes and Sevens by O. Henry

O ye gods, let me suffer for both; At the feet of my Phyllis I'll lie: I'll resign up my breath, And take pleasure in death To be pitied by her when I die.
— from The Works of John Dryden, now first collected in eighteen volumes. Volume 04 by John Dryden

I always think that whatever an intelligent man gives his heart to, and really understands, must become a noble vocation; and I only personally dislike those in whom there is nothing personal, and in whom all individuality disappears; as, for example, the military profession in peace, of which we have instances here.
— from Letters of Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy from 1833 to 1847 by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy

From thence I rose up, moved by a will which was not mine, and was led softly across the Grande Rue, through the great square, with my face towards the Porte St. Lambert.
— from A Beleaguered City Being a Narrative of Certain Recent Events in the City of Semur, in the Department of the Haute Bourgogne. A Story of the Seen and the Unseen by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant