Then they begin to pick holes, as we say, in the coats of some of the godly; and that devilishly, that they may have a seeming colour to throw religion (for the sake of some infirmity they have espied in them) behind their backs.
— from The Pilgrim's Progress from this world to that which is to come Delivered under the similitude of a dream, by John Bunyan by John Bunyan

Then the king and all the court and fellowship of knights went back to the palace, and so to evensong in the great minster, a royal and goodly company, and after that sat down to supper in the hall, every knight in his own seat, as they had been before.
— from The Legends of King Arthur and His Knights by Knowles, James, Sir

And he had often heard it said in the Holy Evangel, that if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee, rather than sin.
— from The Travels of Marco Polo — Volume 1 by Rustichello of Pisa

The observation that the lower principle, e.g. mechanics, is always seen in the higher, e.g. in the phenomena of life, further tended to perplex them.
— from Timaeus by Plato

This thought indeed no sooner suggested itself, than he eagerly embraced it; and having presently hired horses, he set out for Bristol to put it in execution.
— from History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding

And as they stood so talking, Sir Kay saw the five kings coming on horseback by themselves alone, with their spears in their hands even toward them.
— from Le Morte d'Arthur: Volume 1 by Malory, Thomas, Sir

Advertising succeeds in peacetime precisely because it does not matter; the choice which the consumer makes is of slight importance to himself, even though it is of importance to the seller of the product.
— from Psychological Warfare by Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger

Man: It shall be my delight to tend his eyes, 1490 And view him sitting in the house, enobl'd With all those high exploits by him atchiev'd, And on his shoulders waving down those locks, That of a Nation arm'd the strength contain'd:
— from The Poetical Works of John Milton by John Milton

It was even so; in their headlong eagerness, the men had mistaken some other thing for the whale-spout, as the event itself soon proved; for hardly had Ahab reached his perch; hardly was the rope belayed to its pin on deck, when he struck the key-note to an orchestra, that made the air vibrate as with the combined discharges of rifles.
— from Moby Dick; Or, The Whale by Herman Melville

Now, he has set down his foot that, come what will, there shall not be a blow struck in this house, except what he or I strike; and he does it in a way that I really dare not cross him.
— from Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

Only one course of action suggested itself to her excited mind, and whatever its drawbacks she dared not delay.
— from Captain Lucy in France by Aline Havard

So I told him everything nearly—except the truth."
— from From Place to Place by Irvin S. (Irvin Shrewsbury) Cobb

And so I told her everything she wanted to know, without mincing matters in the least; and for once she had nothing to say.
— from The Riddle and the Ring; or, Won by Nerve by Gordon MacLaren

The more recent experiences of the American war would seem indeed to have excited but little interest in Austria.
— from The Campaign of Königgrätz A Study of the Austro-Prussian Conflict in the Light of the American Civil War by Arthur L. (Arthur Lockwood) Wagner

During the short interval that has elapsed since we last saw him, events had occurred memorable in English history, wherewith we have naught to do in a narrative studiously avoiding all party politics even when treating of politicians.
— from Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. V, No. XXV, June, 1852 by Various

“Her amazement that a being could be at once so gentle and so ferocious—her dread that the habits of his life must have converted the angel of her wilderness into a brave but brutal seaman, estranged from the feelings that had rendered the beautiful boy so indulgent to her errors,—so propitiatory between her and her proud relatives,—so aidant in all her amusements,—so necessary to her very existence.—The tones of this dreamy life harmonized, awfully for Elinor, with the sound of the blast as it shook the turrets of the Castle, or swept the woods that groaned and bowed beneath its awful visitings.
— from Melmoth the Wanderer, Vol. 4 (of 4) by Charles Robert Maturin

On the other side is the highest elevation of the Kittatinny and the most elevated land in New Jersey, High Point, rising nineteen hundred and sixty feet.
— from America, Volume 1 (of 6) by Joel Cook

Moosa, who was in charge of this dhow (Yoosoof having command of another), gave orders to have the slaves in the hold examined, and it was discovered that three others were dead and two dying.
— from Black Ivory by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne