I see not any road to perfect peace which a man can walk, but to take counsel of his own bosom.
— from Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Finding, therefore, that, at Rome, not only Antonius Gnipho, but even other teachers of less note were preferred to him, he retired to Cumae, where he lived at his ease; and, though he wrote several books, he was so needy, and reduced to such straits, as to be compelled to sell that excellent little work of his, “The Index to the Annals,” for sixteen thousand sesterces.
— from The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Complete by Suetonius

70 Adversity had confirmed the Roman discipline, while the barbarians, elated by success, were become so negligent and remiss, that in the moment when they least expected it, they were surprised by the active conduct of Galerius, who, attended only by two horsemen, had with his own eyes secretly examined the state and position of their camp.
— 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

[Pg 311] B.C. 149 ( a.u. 605) When the senate called a meeting to consider the matter, Scipio Nasica advised receiving the Carthaginian embassy and making a truce with them, but Marcus Cato declared that no truce ought to be arranged nor the decree of war rescinded.
— from Dio's Rome, Volume 1 (of 6) An Historical Narrative Originally Composed in Greek during the Reigns of Septimius Severus, Geta and Caracalla, Macrinus, Elagabalus and Alexander Severus: and Now Presented in English Form by Cassius Dio Cocceianus

He left the house he had rented here, at short notice, and retired to where you will find him now.
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova

Adversity had confirmed the Roman discipline, while the barbarians, elated by success, were become so negligent and remiss, that in the moment when they least expected it, they were surprised by the active conduct of Galerius, who, attended only by two horsemen, had with his own eyes secretly examined the state and position of their camp.
— 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

For we do not so narrow and restrict the application of the term "blessedness" as to apply it to God only,
— from The City of God, Volume I by Augustine, Saint, Bishop of Hippo

At 8 a.m. on the 2nd November the Battalion marched about five miles forward to the staging area at Maing, which it reached at about 11.30 a.m., and that evening advanced again at short notice and relieved the 4th K.O.Y.L.I. (49th Division) in advanced positions facing Saultain, the relief being completed by 2 a.m. on the 3rd November.
— from The War History of the 4th Battalion, the London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers), 1914-1919 by F. Clive Grimwade

The grounds around it have been rescued from savage nature and reduced to order and beauty.
— from The Life of Henry Bradley Plant Founder and President of the Plant System of Railroads and Steamships and Also of the Southern Express Company by G. Hutchinson (George Hutchinson) Smyth

But Stern noticed, and rejoiced to see it, that none prostrated themselves.
— from Darkness and Dawn by George Allan England

Why, there was once a house afire, in a neighborhood where one of his friends lived, and what does this young fool do but jump out of his bed, in the middle of a stormy night, and run to this fire, with nothing but his night-clothes on!”
— from St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and Girls, Vol. 5, No. 06, April 1878 Scribner's Illustrated by Various

“Fèsal advanced still nearer, and repeated the same words, adding— “‘It is useless to shed more blood.’
— from Hassan; or, The Child of the Pyramid: An Egyptian Tale by Murray, Charles Augustus, Sir

And the discreet minister Gomukha said to Vasantaka; “Noble Vasantaka, tell some new and romantic tale to delight the mind of the crown-prince.
— from The Kathá Sarit Ságara; or, Ocean of the Streams of Story by active 11th century Somadeva Bhatta

And so whatever happens, I shall not always regret that which I left undone."
— from Jurgen: A Comedy of Justice by James Branch Cabell

"If a mother sacrifices her time and endeavours to form a child's happiness, has she not a right to expect its completion?
— from The Manoeuvring Mother (vol. 3 of 3) by Bury, Charlotte Campbell, Lady