The uniform language that may be heard in the churches of the most ignorant sects, is,—"Contemn the unsubstantial shows of the world; they are vanities, dreams, shadows, unrealities; seek the realities of religion."
— from Nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson

What if one of the ever-living gods should see us sleeping together, and tell the others?
— from The Iliad by Homer

Then Sigurd stood up, spoke to those who were standing on the king's pier, made known to them the murder of King Harald by his hand, and desired that they would take him, and choose him as chief according to his birth.
— from Heimskringla; Or, The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway by Snorri Sturluson

She grew fond of her husband, realizing with some unaccountable satisfaction that no trace of passion or excessive and fictitious warmth colored her affection, thereby threatening its dissolution.
— from The Awakening, and Selected Short Stories by Kate Chopin

When he talks with elderly people he is either unduly forward, or else so unduly shy that he appears ashamed of his very existence.
— from The Hungry Stones, and Other Stories by Rabindranath Tagore

Maldeo of Marwar, who had so ably opposed the usurper Sher Shah, was compelled to follow the example of his brother prince, Bhagwandas of Amber, and to place himself at the footstool of Akbar: only two years subsequent to Partap’s accession, after a brave but fruitless resistance in Merta and Jodhpur, he sent his son, Udai Singh, to pay homage to the king.
— from Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, v. 1 of 3 or the Central and Western Rajput States of India by James Tod

Nisbet handed him his two acceptances, and he handed me his check, signed as collector of the port, on Major J. R. Snyder, United States Treasurer, for forty thousand dollars.
— from Memoirs of General William T. Sherman — Complete by William T. (William Tecumseh) Sherman

"Stand up," said the bandaged soldier gently.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of 233 Short Stories of Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

There is no more to say, but east and west, In go the speares sadly in the rest, In goth the sharp spur into the side, There see men who can just and who can ride; There shiver shaftes upon shieldes thick, He feeleth through the heart-spone the prick; Up springen speares, twenty feet in height, Out go the swordes to the silver bright; The helms they to-hewn and to-shred; Out burst the blood with stern streames red.
— from Ivanhoe: A Romance by Walter Scott

You must know, she yesterday wanted to steal a march of poor Liddy, and went to breakfast in the Room without any other companion than her dog, in expectation of meeting with the Baronet, who had agreed to dance with her in the evening—Chowder no sooner made his appearance in the Room, than the Master of the Ceremonies, incensed at his presumption, ran up to drive him away, and threatened him with his foot; but the other seemed to despise his authority, and displaying a formidable case of long, white, sharp teeth, kept the puny monarch at bay—While he stood under some trepidation, fronting his antagonist, and bawling to the waiter, Sir Ulic Mackilligut came to his assistance; and seeming ignorant of the connexion between this intruder and his mistress, gave the former such a kick in the jaws, as sent him howling to the door—Mrs Tabitha, incensed at this outrage, ran after him, squalling in a tone equally disagreeable; while the Baronet followed her on one side, making apologies for his mistake; and Derrick on the other, making remonstrances upon the rules and regulations of the place.
— from The Expedition of Humphry Clinker by T. (Tobias) Smollett

William and Mr. Seagrave unlaid some thick rope, that Ready might make smaller and more useful rope with the yarns.
— from Masterman Ready by Frederick Marryat

When ready to serve, unmold, spread the whole outside with apricot jam, and sprinkle with chopped almonds.
— from The Century Cook Book by Mary Ronald

On taking leave, he requested that we would continue as long as possible at his court, since he wished to show us some tiger hunting, and give an entertainment in his palace,—honours which we duly appreciated.
— from Travels Into Bokhara (Volume 1 of 3) Being the Account of A Journey from India to Cabool, Tartary, and Persia; Also, Narrative of a Voyage on the Indus, From the Sea to Lahore, With Presents From the King of Great Britain; Performed Under the Orders of the Supreme Government of India, in the Years 1831, 1832, and 1833 by Burnes, Alexander, Sir

The injured man was still unconscious, so they told him.
— from Jess of the Rebel Trail by H. A. (Hiram Alfred) Cody

So I obeyed her and sitting up, saw that Diogenes, like the four-footed philosopher he was, had come to a halt and was serenely cropping the grass by the roadside.
— from Peregrine's Progress by Jeffery Farnol

In my last annual message I submitted for the consideration of Congress the present system of managing the mineral lands of the United States, and recommended that they should be brought into market and sold upon such terms and under such restrictions as Congress might prescribe.
— from State of the Union Addresses (1790-2006) by United States. Presidents

But energetic Chamārs continually turn and refill the skin until satisfied that it is thoroughly saturated with the tanning.
— from The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India, Volume 2 by R. V. (Robert Vane) Russell

For, when the first man of the unfortunate batch had stripped and was seized up, seeing that the skipper actually intended to carry out his monstrous resolve—a fact which, until that moment, I had doubted—forgetting for the time everything but the cruelty and injustice of the action, I sprang forward and placing myself immediately in front of our frowning chief, exclaimed: “No, no; do not do it, sir!
— from The Rover's Secret: A Tale of the Pirate Cays and Lagoons of Cuba by Harry Collingwood