Thus doth He force the swords of wicked men To turn their own points in their masters' bosoms.
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare

Direct statements are those which the speaker or writer makes himself or which are quoted in his exact language.
— from Latin for Beginners by Benjamin L. (Benjamin Leonard) D'Ooge

My honest friend’s history was a curious one, and it may be told here in order to show of what motley materials our levies were composed:— ‘I am,’ said he, ‘a Saxon by birth, my father being pastor of the village of Pfannkuchen, where I imbibed the first rudiments of knowledge.
— from Barry Lyndon by William Makepeace Thackeray

If we have such ill speed at our first setting out, what may we expect betwixt this and our journey's end?
— 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

If Plato intended to frame a state in which more than in any other everything should be common, he has certainly given it a right name; but if he intended it to be the next in perfection to that which he had already framed, it is not so; for perhaps some persons will give the preference to the Lacedaemonian form of government, or some other which may more completely have attained to the aristocratic form.
— from Politics: A Treatise on Government by Aristotle

some of which may, however, prove exceptions to the universality of the rule.
— from The Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant

Having dined very well, 10s., we come before night to the Bath; where I presently stepped out with my landlord, and saw the baths, with people in them.
— from The Diary of Samuel Pepys — Complete by Samuel Pepys

Clark, April 27, 1805] 27th of April Satturday 1805 after take the azmuth of the Sun & brackfasting we Set out wind moderate & a head, at 11 oClock the wind rose and continued to blow verry hard a head from the N. W. untill 4 oClock P M, which blew the Sand off the Points in Such clouds as almost Covered us on the opposit bank, at 4 I Set out from my unpleasent Situation and proceeded on, Capt. Lewis walked on Shore in the Point to examine & view the Countrey and could not get to the boats untill night, Saw great numbers of Goats or antilopes, Elk, Swan Gees & Ducks, no buffalow to day I Saw Several beaver and much Sign, I Shot one in the head which imediately Sunk, altho the game of different kinds are in abundance we Kill nothing but what we can make H2 anchor
— from The Journals of Lewis and Clark, 1804-1806 by William Clark

By means of them that state of self-profanation on the part of man has been attained, the sight of which makes one heave.
— from The Twilight of the Idols; or, How to Philosophize with the Hammer. The Antichrist Complete Works, Volume Sixteen by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

But Tancred, the bay horse, began to make such spirited remonstrances against this frequent change of direction, that Stephen, catching sight of Willy Moss peeping through the gate, called out, "Here!
— from The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot

He was now in full swing of work; much to the surprise of his father, was engaged in twenty different mines; and was everywhere recognised as a worthy successor of his father, and as the chief Cornish engineer in the county.
— from Cornish Worthies: Sketches of Some Eminent Cornish Men and Families, Volume 2 (of 2) by Walter H. (Walter Hawken) Tregellas

Then from absence of a better inspiration, we commenced to roar "Home, Sweet Home," which I think struck just as responsive a chord, but the sentiment of which made a universal appeal.
— from Sixteen Months in Four German Prisons: Wesel, Sennelager, Klingelputz, Ruhleben by Frederick Arthur Ambrose Talbot

“My father had but one brother and two sisters, of which my uncle here is the youngest.
— from Alonzo and Melissa; Or, The Unfeeling Father: An American Tale by I. (Isaac) Mitchell

Suddenly she heard her father call out in a startled sort of way: “Mary, sure enough, here comes G.!”
— from Telepathy and the Subliminal Self by R. Osgood (Rufus Osgood) Mason

[xxiv] The simplest way to begin is to eliminate from our consideration the numerous Robin Hood’s Hills, Wells, Stones, Oaks, or Butts , some of which may be found as far distant as Gloucestershire and Somerset; for many of these probably bear his name in much the same way as other natural freaks bear the Devil’s name.
— from Ballads of Robin Hood and other Outlaws Popular Ballads of the Olden Times - Fourth Series by Frank Sidgwick

" "The right sort of woman makes her husband's way hers," said she.
— from The Cost by David Graham Phillips

Barmby, his dignity unobserved, strode on with Miss. Morgan, of whom he sought information concerning the loud-voiced man.
— from In the Year of Jubilee by George Gissing

Having been asked, year after year, by the members of my Class for Operative Surgery, to recommend to them some Manual of Surgical Operations which might at once guide them in their choice of operations, and give minute details as to the mode of performance, I have been gradually led to undertake the production of this little work.
— from A Manual of the Operations of Surgery For the Use of Senior Students, House Surgeons, and Junior Practitioners by Joseph Bell

It is Spirit of Wine, Major.
— from Cleek of Scotland Yard: Detective Stories by Thomas W. Hanshew