In the course of the spring she must return their civilities by one very superior party—in which her card-tables should be set out with their separate candles and unbroken packs in the true style—and more waiters engaged for the evening than their own establishment could furnish, to carry round the refreshments at exactly the proper hour, and in the proper order.
— from Emma by Jane Austen

In a confederated commonwealth, such as the Achaean republic of old, or the Swiss Cantons and United Provinces in modern times; as the league has here a peculiar UTILITY, the conditions of union have a peculiar sacredness and authority, and a violation of them would be regarded as no less, or even as more criminal, than any private injury or injustice.
— from An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals by David Hume

" The connection of the names struck Mary, and she immediately recollected Miss Fowler's having been very intimate with persons so called, and, upon putting everything together, we have scarcely a doubt of her being actually staying with the only family in the place whom we cannot visit.
— from The Letters of Jane Austen Selected from the compilation of her great nephew, Edward, Lord Bradbourne by Jane Austen

‘He possessed his father’s martial spirit, courage and unyielding perseverance.’—Ihne.
— from Helps to Latin Translation at Sight by Edmund Luce

I know of no case better adapted to show the importance of the laws of correlation and variation, independently of utility, and therefore of natural selection, than that of the difference between the outer and inner flowers in some Compositous and Umbelliferous plants.
— from The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection Or, the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life, 6th Edition by Charles Darwin

En symbiose complète avec un parfait inconnu, et une grande jubilation éprouvée à cette écriture
— from Entretiens / Interviews / Entrevistas by Marie Lebert

—Among cowards it is thought bad form to say anything against bravery, for any expression of this kind would give rise to some contempt; and unfeeling people are irritated when anything is said against pity.
— from The Dawn of Day by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

Pan, who presides over social contretemps and unsuccessful picnics.
— from A Room with a View by E. M. (Edward Morgan) Forster

I know of no case better adapted to show the importance of the laws of correlation in modifying important structures, independently of utility and, therefore, of natural selection, than that of the difference between the outer and inner flowers in some Compositous and Umbelliferous plants.
— from On the Origin of Species By Means of Natural Selection Or, the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life by Charles Darwin

[61] The lords of council, being advised with the points of the said complaints, and understanding perfectly the great thefts and skaiths (hurts) done by the said Egyptians upon our sovereign lord’s lieges, wherever they come or resort, ordain letters to be directed to the provosts and baillies of Edinburgh, St. Johnstown (Perth), Dundee, Montrose, Aberdeen, St. Andrews, Elgin, Forres, and Inverness; and to the sheriffs of Edinburgh, Fife, Perth, Forfar, Kincardine, Aberdeen, Elgin and Forres, Banff, Cromarty, Inverness, and all other sheriffs, stewarts, provosts and baillies, where it happens the said Egyptians to resort.
— from A History of the Gipsies: with Specimens of the Gipsy Language by Walter Simson

Large shipments by the recently opened direct steamship line to Turkish ports have been denied entrance on the score that, although of standard composition and unquestioned purity, the flour was pernicious to health because of deficient "elasticity" as indicated by antiquated and untrustworthy tests.
— from State of the Union Addresses (1790-2006) by United States. Presidents

Day after day they trotted on, through strange countries, among unknown people and animals; but the horse never noticed them, nor they the horse.
— from The Magician's Show Box, and Other Stories by Lydia Maria Child

How feverishly she worked, unknown to him, he never guessed; so carefully and unobtrusively planted her suggestions that they were born again in glory as his inspiration.
— from A Modern Chronicle — Volume 07 by Winston Churchill

The stem is straight, solid, cylindrical and usually paler than the cap.
— from Toadstools, mushrooms, fungi, edible and poisonous; one thousand American fungi How to select and cook the edible; how to distinguish and avoid the poisonous, with full botanic descriptions. Toadstool poisons and their treatment, instructions to students, recipes for cooking, etc., etc. by Charles McIlvaine

It is the expression of that passion for veracity which was perhaps his strongest characteristic; an uncompromising passion for truth in thought, which would admit no particle of self-deception, no assertion beyond what could be verified; for truth in act, perfect straightforwardness and sincerity, with complete disregard of personal consequences for uttering unpalatable fact.
— from Life and Letters of Thomas Henry Huxley — Volume 3 by Thomas Henry Huxley

" "My objection is this; though I think very well of Mrs. Jennings's heart, she is not a woman whose society can afford us pleasure, or whose protection will give us consequence.
— from Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

A friend of mine, a cultivated and scholarly clergyman, always used phrases like 'that bookcase cost thirteen pound .'
— from English As We Speak It in Ireland by P. W. (Patrick Weston) Joyce