Xerxes tried to sail and to march by fighting against the laws of nature, and, as he thought, overcame the nature of the sea and of the dry land, but he proved to be no match for the wisdom and endurance of a Greek whose soldiers had not been bred in the school of luxury, nor learned to be slaves, but knew how to obey and to use their energies like free-born men.
— from The Works of the Emperor Julian, Vol. 1 by Emperor of Rome Julian

How many important chances have been put off until to-morrow, and thence for ever, because indulgence has thrown the system into a state of lassitude, neutralizing the energies so essential to success in business.
— from The Gentlemen's Book of Etiquette and Manual of Politeness Being a Complete Guide for a Gentleman's Conduct in All His Relations Towards Society by Cecil B. Hartley

I confess that neither the structure of languages, nor the code of governments, nor the politics of various states possessed attractions for me.
— from Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

And our poet laureate has sung, 'Tis Life, whereof our nerves are scant, O life, not death, for which we pant; More life, and fuller, that I want.
— from Ancient Pagan and Modern Christian Symbolism With an Essay on Baal Worship, on the Assyrian Sacred "Grove," and Other Allied Symbols by Thomas Inman

Lampaag kaáyu ang lambáyung dapit sa hunásan, The vines are spreading out lushly near the edge of the tidal flat.
— from A Dictionary of Cebuano Visayan by John U. Wolff

Emily, having purchased a little straw hat, such as was worn by the peasant girls of Tuscany, and some other little necessary equipments for the journey, and the travellers, having exchanged their tired horses for others better able to carry them, re-commenced their joyous way, as the sun was rising over the mountains, and, after travelling through this romantic country, for several hours, began to descend into the vale of Arno.
— from The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Ward Radcliffe

However, she betrayed no sign of life; neither Djali’s graceful evolutions, nor the menaces of the court, nor the suppressed imprecations of the spectators any longer reached her mind.
— from Notre-Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo

Small states, or states of less natural strength, under vigorous governments, and with the assistance of disciplined armies, have often triumphed over large states, or states of greater natural strength, which have been destitute of these advantages.
— from The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton

In a damp, hot, stagnating air, this African fever is generated from the putrefaction of animal substances, and especially from the swarms of locusts, not less destructive to mankind in their death than in their lives.
— 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

And yet I am—I live—though I am toss’d Into the nothingness of scorn and noise, Into the living sea of waking dream, Where there is neither sense of life, nor joys, But the huge shipwreck of my own esteem And all that’s dear.
— from Poems by John Clare

Neither the solemnity of the place, nor the sanctity of laws, nor the importance of the oratorical character, could restrain the impetuosity of young ambition.
— from A Dialogue Concerning Oratory, or the Causes of Corrupt Eloquence The Works of Cornelius Tacitus, Volume 8 (of 8); With an Essay on His Life and Genius, Notes, Supplements by Cornelius Tacitus

To the surprise of the Duchess of Buccleugh, Lady Nithisdale one day appeared before her, the object of that sudden and perhaps undesired visit being to obtain, by the influence of the Duchess, leave to quit London; and to disseminate, through her Grace, a belief that the safety of Lord Nithisdale was not procured by his wife's means.
— from Memoirs of the Jacobites of 1715 and 1745. Volume II. by Thomson, A. T., Mrs.

A spark of light now appeared in the far end of the tunnel, and when he arrived there he found the man Tim at work.
— from The Gilded Age, Part 7. by Charles Dudley Warner

Alexandra Park and Palace .—This is situated on the north side of London, near Hornsey, and is reached by means of the Great Northern Railway.
— from Collins' Illustrated Guide to London and Neighbourhood Being a Concise Description of the Chief Places of Interest in the Metropolis, and the Best Modes of Obtaining Access to Them: with Information Relating to Railways, Omnibuses, Steamers, &c. by Anonymous

The next young lady whom the Old Testament presents for our admiration and edification is Dinah, the daughter of Jacob and Leah, who set the passionate but agonizing style of "loving not wisely, but too well," and brought about one of the shrewdest military stratagems that was ever perpetrated, a terrible massacre, and the slavery of many innocent women and children.
— from Fair to Look Upon by Mary Belle Freeley

A Soudanese soldier, as innocent as a lamb cropping sweet grass before a fox's covert, trespassed for the sake of loot near a native village, and was speared through the abdomen.
— from In Darkest Africa, Vol. 1; or, The Quest, Rescue, and Retreat of Emin, Governor of Equatoria by Henry M. (Henry Morton) Stanley

The prices of these are as follow: Raw silk of Lanking [Nankin] which is the best, 190 dollars the pekul; raw silk of Canton, which is coarser, 80 dollars the pekul; taffeta in bolts, 120 yards in the piece, 46 dollars the corge , or 20 pieces; velvets of all colours, 13 yards the piece, for 12 dollars; Damasks of all colours, 12 yards the piece, at 6 dollars; white sattins, in pieces of 12 yards, 8 dollars each; Burgones , of 10 yards long the piece, 45 dollars the corge ; sleeve silk, the best made colours, 3 dollars the cattee ; the best musk, 22 dollars the cattee ; the best sewing gold thread, 15 knots, and every knot 30 threads, one dollar; velvet hangings with gold embroidery, 18 dollars; upon sattins, 14 dollars; white curtain stuffs, 9 yards the piece, 50 dollars the corge ; flat white damask, 9 yards the piece, 4 dollars each; white sugar, very dry, 3-1/2 dollars the pekul; very dry sugar-candy, 5 dollars the pekul; very fine broad porcelain basons, 2 dollars the piece; coarse calico cloths, white or brown, 15 dollars the corge .
— from A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 08 by Robert Kerr

And he said, Oh let not the LORD be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there.
— from The Bible, King James version, Book 1: Genesis by Anonymous