106 By knowing each man's ruling passion, we are sure of pleasing him; and yet each has his fancies, opposed to his true good, in the very idea which he has of the good.
— from Pascal's Pensées by Blaise Pascal

25 Let those who are in favour with their stars, Of public honour and proud titles boast, Whilst I whom fortune of such triumph bars Unlooked for joy in that I honour most; Great princes’ favourites their fair leaves spread, But as the marigold at the sun’s eye, And in themselves their pride lies buried, For at a frown they in their glory die.
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare

The bodies of the father and his five sons were cast into the sea; their heads were exposed at Constantinople to the insults or pity of the multitude; and it was not till some signs of putrefaction had appeared, that Phocas connived at the private burial of these venerable remains.
— 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

Well had it been if the same quick sense of propriety had attended him in the peddling propensity to which I have formerly alluded—but this was by no means the case.
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven Edition Table Of Contents And Index Of The Five Volumes by Edgar Allan Poe

But nothing contributed more to render the new form of government acceptable to the people, than the frequent distribution of corn, and sometimes largesses, amongst the commonalty: for an occasional scarcity of provisions had always been the chief cause of discontents and tumults in the capital.
— from The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Complete by Suetonius

From the beginning of the world, an uninterrupted series of predictions had announced and prepared the long-expected coming of the Messiah, who, in compliance with the gross apprehensions of the Jews, had been more frequently represented under the character of a King and Conqueror, than under that of a Prophet, a Martyr, and the Son of God.
— 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

Hy, n. aptitude to proceed: a. apt; bold; audacious Hyadlais, a. apt to resound Hyall, a. possible, effectible Hyalledd, n. possibility Hyar, a. apt to resound; vocal Hyawdledd, n. eloquence Hyawdl, a. eloquent, fluent Hyb, n. a getting forward; a recovery Hyball, a. fallible, defectible Hyballedd, n. fallibility Hybar, a. apt to provide Hybarch, a. reverend, revered Hybarchedd, n. venerableness Hybarth, a. divisible Hybarthedd, n. divisibility Hybawl, a recovering; saving Hybechrwydd, n. aptness to sin Hybell, a. far ranging; distant Hybiad, n. a recovering Hyblaid, n. apt to take a part Hybleth, a. apt to weave Hyblyg, a. easily doubted; also flexible Hyblygedd, n. flexibility Hyboen, a. susceptible of pain Hyboeth, a. easily heated Hyborth, a. easily supported Hybrawf, a. demonstrable Hybryn, a. easily bought Hybu, v. to get foremost; to recover Hybwyll, a. discreet, rational Hybwylledd, n. deliberation Hybwys, a. aptly pressing Hybwysedd, n. ponderousness Hychan, n. a little sow Hychgryg, n. quinsy Hychiad, n. a thrusting Hychian, v. to grunt Hychiaw, v. to push, to thrust Hychig, n. little or young sow Hychwant, a. aptly lusting Hychwardd, a. aptly laughing Hychwil, a. apt to pry about Hychwyth, a. apt to blow Hyd, n. length; continuity; while: prep.
— from A Pocket Dictionary: Welsh-English by William Richards

They took the new wheels off our carts and replaced them with old ones, stole our ploughing harness and actually sold them to us, and so on.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of 233 Short Stories of Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

Student or professor, he accepted the negative standard because it was the standard of the school.
— from The Education of Henry Adams by Henry Adams

How far this institution, the outcome of a novelist's imagination and the generous subscriptions of philanthropists, has achieved the regeneration of the London poor, history has yet to record.
— from Victorian Literature: Sixty Years of Books and Bookmen by Clement King Shorter

Cut in dice two ounces of bacon, put it in a stewpan and set on a good fire; add two ounces of butter, and two onions cut in slices; when melted, lay the breast in, turn it over and leave till of a golden color on both sides; add then two small carrots cut in pieces, one teaspoonful of chopped green onions, three sprigs of parsley, half a turnip, salt, and pepper; moisten with half a pint of warm water; leave thus about three hours on a moderate fire.
— from Hand-Book of Practical Cookery, for Ladies and Professional Cooks Containing the Whole Science and Art of Preparing Human Food by Pierre Blot

But this tiny strip of paper has a deep underlying purpose.
— from Peeps at Postage Stamps by Stanley C. (Stanley Currie) Johnson

To secure or prosecute his advantages, he had brought with him from Egypt a number of robust and daring fanatics, who acted as his soldiery; and it had been skilfully arranged that Ephesus should be chosen for the decision of a difference respecting the dignity of the Virgin; since popular tradition had buried her in that city, and the imperfect Christianity of its inhabitants had readily transferred to her the worship which their ancestors had offered to Diana.”
— from Unitarianism Defended A Series of Lectures by Three Protestant Dissenting Ministers of Liverpool by John Hamilton Thom

During the past year, Mr. Henderson has erected an extensive range of houses, after the following description and plan: "I have read and examined from time to time, with much interest, your remarks and sketches of Plant Houses, and it is not to dissent from your views that I now write, although it seems to me that your ideas run all one side of the matter, for your designs and descriptions are almost exclusively of an ornamental [Pg 51] character, and adapted only for conservatories or graperies, leaving the uninitiated commercial nurseryman or florist to look in vain for something to suit his case.
— from Woodward's Graperies and Horticultural Buildings by F. W. (Francis W.) Woodward

The young man's movements, however, betrayed no consistency of attention—not even, for that matter, when one of his arrests had proceeded from possibilities in faces shaded, as they passed him on the pavement, by huge beribboned hats, or more delicately tinted still under the tense silk of parasols held at perverse angles in waiting victorias.
— from The Golden Bowl — Volume 1 by Henry James

In the third year of the lad's residence at Oxbridge, his staircase was by no means encumbered with dish-covers and desserts, and waiters carrying in dishes, and skips opening iced champagne; crowds of different sorts of attendants, with faces sulky or piteous, hung about the outer oak, and assailed the unfortunate lad as he issued out of his den.
— from The History of Pendennis by William Makepeace Thackeray

The next moment he doffed his hat ceremoniously to a little black-eyed creature with a superb triple string of pearls hanging almost to the waist of her black lace gown.
— from The Transgression of Andrew Vane: A Novel by Guy Wetmore Carryl