I slept well that night, and should have slept better if it had not been for Harris.
— from Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. (Jerome Klapka) Jerome

Colman slily said, (but it is believed Dr. Johnson did not hear him,)
— from Boswell's Life of Johnson Abridged and edited, with an introduction by Charles Grosvenor Osgood by James Boswell

It was formally provided, that none, except the supreme magistrate, should possess or command the gates, bridges, or towers of the state; that no private garrisons should be introduced into the towns or castles of the Roman territory; that none should bear arms, or presume to fortify their houses in the city or country; that the barons should be responsible for the safety of the highways, and the free passage of provisions; and that the protection of malefactors and robbers should be expiated by a fine of a thousand marks of silver.
— 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

CALONICE My dears, see what a splendid bowl it is; I'd not say No if asked to sip it off.
— from Lysistrata by Aristophanes

Nevertheless, aesthetically, enthusiasm is sublime, because it is a tension of forces produced by Ideas, which give an impulse to the mind, that operates far more powerfully and lastingly than the impulse arising from sensible representations.
— from Kant's Critique of Judgement by Immanuel Kant

What the situation of the country should be it is not difficult to determine, in some particulars respecting that we ought to be advised by those who are skilful in military affairs.
— from Politics: A Treatise on Government by Aristotle

And as for this very identical bill, which is the property of my angel, and was once in her dear possession, I will not deliver it into any hands but her own, upon any consideration whatever, no, though I was as hungry as thou art, and had no other means to satisfy my craving appetite; this I hope to do before I sleep; but if it should happen otherwise, I charge thee, if thou would'st not incur my displeasure for ever, not to shock me any more by the bare mention of such detestable baseness.”
— from History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding

“Of course I was sure, but if I had not been too busy you would have seen me, for all that.”
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova

47; shell thick and of a dull yellowish color; kernel moderately large, as shown across section of nut in Fig. 48, but much smaller in proportion to the size of the nut than in the two preceding species, but it is sweet, well flavored, and easily removed from the shell when cracked.
— from The Nut Culturist A Treatise on Propogation, Planting, and Cultivation of Nut Bearing Trees and Shrubs Adapted to the Climate of the United States by Andrew S. (Andrew Samuel) Fuller

This Principle is sovereignly beautiful; it is beautiful entirely and throughout, so that not a single one of its parts lacks beauty.
— from Plotinos: Complete Works, v. 2 In Chronological Order, Grouped in Four Periods by Plotinus

I am really taking this step because it is my intention"—he hesitated, and Berwick perceived that a peculiarly dogged expression had come over the dark, rather narrow face,—"I wish to tell you that it is my intention," repeated Oliver, "to ask Mrs. Rebell to become my wife."
— from Barbara Rebell by Marie Belloc Lowndes

Operculum of Turbo sp.; breadth (in inches) of successive whorls, measured from the pole.
— from On Growth and Form by D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson

This potential difference is slight when the conductors are separated, but it is calculated that it would be enormous could the metals be so quickly separated as to hold each its own charge.
— from The Standard Electrical Dictionary A Popular Dictionary of Words and Terms Used in the Practice of Electrical Engineering by T. O'Conor (Thomas O'Conor) Sloane

Not all of them are stories, but it is fair to throw in a non-story because it is so very much better than the others.
— from A History of the French Novel, Vol. 2 To the Close of the 19th Century by George Saintsbury

Since writing the above, considerable activity has been shown by inventors in producing new burners upon the regenerative principle, or in improving upon existing models.
— from Gas Burners Old and New A historical and descriptive treatise on the progress of invention in gas lighting, embracing an account of the theory of luminous combustion by Owen Merriman

But if fear is continually excited, and no such habits are formed, then the susceptibility is lessened, while the good to be secured by it is lost.
— from Common Sense Applied to Religion; Or, The Bible and the People by Catharine Esther Beecher

We have said thus much on this point for two reasons: first, because it is on this chiefly that Mr. Sawyer appeals to the public for a verdict in favor of his translation; and secondly, because it is a common and popular notion, that, the more literal a translation can be made, especially in the case of the Bible, the better and more trustworthy it will be.
— from The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 03, No. 17, March, 1859 A Magazine of Literature, Art, and Politics by Various