And such of these as are not knowledge, but of another sort, are sometimes profitable and sometimes hurtful; as, for example, courage wanting prudence, which is only a sort of confidence?
— from Meno by Plato

Many other dramatists have availed themselves of costume as a method of expressing directly to the audience the character of a person on his entrance, though hardly so brilliantly as Shakespeare has done in the case of the dandy Parolles, whose dress, by the way, only an archæologist can understand; the fun of a master and servant exchanging coats in presence of the audience, of shipwrecked sailors squabbling over the division of a lot of fine clothes, and of a tinker dressed up like a duke while he is in his cups, may be regarded as part of that great career which costume has always played in comedy from the time of Aristophanes down to Mr. Gilbert; but nobody from the mere details of apparel and adornment has ever drawn such irony of contrast, such immediate and tragic effect, such pity and such pathos, as Shakespeare himself.
— from Intentions by Oscar Wilde

Then, after a period of dumb exhaustion, his disordered imagination would suddenly transform the great apartment into a forecastle, and the hurrying throng of nurses into the crew; and he would come to a sitting posture and shout, 'Hump yourselves, hump yourselves, you petrifactions, snail-bellies, pall-bearers!
— from Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain

The first and last passages more especially present striking parallels, and show how germane to St Paul’s subject these ideas of ‘suspension or balancing in the air’ (ἐώρα or αἰώρα) and ‘treading the void’ (κενεμβατεύειν) would be, as expressing at once the spiritual pride and the emptiness of these speculative mystics; see also de Somn.
— from St. Paul's Epistles to the Colossians and Philemon A revised text with introductions, notes and dissertations by J. B. (Joseph Barber) Lightfoot

O, that a mighty man of such descent, Of such possessions, and so high esteem, Should be infused with so foul a spirit!
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare

It did not seem probable, as she had no symptoms of pregnancy; still it might be so.
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova

She promised, and she has kept her word.
— from The Works of Charles and Mary Lamb — Volume 2 Elia and The Last Essays of Elia by Charles Lamb

Moreover, putting Hegel and Fichte out of the question, the position advanced was in 1840 so new, indeed so paradoxical (as Schopenhauer himself admits); there is at times such an aggressiveness in the style; the whole essay is so much more calculated to startle than to conciliate; that we cannot feel much surprise at the official decision.
— from The Basis of Morality by Arthur Schopenhauer

The immediate effect of this beverage is not perceptible on these people, who use it so frequently; but on some of ours, who ventured to try it, though so nastily prepared, it had the same power as spirits have, in intoxicating them; or, rather, it produced that kind of stupefaction, which is the consequence of using opium, or other substances of that kind.
— from A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 15 Forming A Complete History Of The Origin And Progress Of Navigation, Discovery, And Commerce, By Sea And Land, From The Earliest Ages To The Present Time by Robert Kerr

Long, long may stand, Not touched by Time, the Rectory blithe; No grudging churl dispute his Tithe; At Easter be the offerings due With cheerful spirit paid; each pew In decent order filled; no noise Loud intervene to drown the voice, Learning, or wisdom of the Teacher; Impressive be the Sacred Preacher, And strict his notes on holy page; May young and old from age to age Salute, and still point out, 'The good man's Parsonage!' TO THE BOOK Little Casket!
— from The Works of Charles and Mary Lamb — Volume 4 Poems and Plays by Charles Lamb

Heedless of the risk he ran, he leapt upon the stone parapet, and shaking his fist at the German ships rated them in the choicest language of the Shire of Broad Acres.
— from A Sub. of the R.N.R.: A Story of the Great War by Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman

The French attack on the Spanish position at Serre had been brought to a halt by the fierce fire of the enemy, and, as the line wavered, a timely charge of the Spanish horse threw it into confusion.
— from Napoleon's Marshals by R. P. Dunn-Pattison

'But Mrs. Wylie has seen her,' said Peterkin, 'and she hasn't turned into a frog!'
— from Peterkin by Mrs. Molesworth

Nelson had knocked out Gans and Maria had run away since Peter and Sykes had last seen each other.
— from The Boy Grew Older by Heywood Broun

During the breakfast, the conversation related exclusively to Arsène Lupin, the stolen goods, the secret passage, and Sherlock Holmes.
— from The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsene Lupin, Gentleman-Burglar by Maurice Leblanc

The work was completed by daylight, and the knights felt that they were now in a position to resist another attack, should Paleologus again send his troops to the assault.
— from A Knight of the White Cross: A Tale of the Siege of Rhodes by G. A. (George Alfred) Henty

She put a soft hand over his lips.
— from The Day of the Beast by Zane Grey