A castle in the air,” cried Katerina Ivanovna, her laugh ending in a cough.
— from Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

From the fifth century their history is cleared from the mist of ages, which envelops them all prior to this time; and in the period approaching the Tatar conquest of India, we find them contesting with the last Tuar and Chauhan kings of Delhi, and the Balakaraes of Anhilwara, the right to paramount importance amidst the princes of Ind.
— from Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, v. 1 of 3 or the Central and Western Rajput States of India by James Tod

But desiring that the time during which they were blockading Syracuse should not be entirely wasted, but that some addition should be made to their power in other parts of the country, the two commanders separated and divided the troops between them: Appius Claudius keeping two-thirds and continuing the blockade, while Marcus Marcellus with the remaining third went to attack the cities that sided with the Carthaginians.... 10.
— from The Histories of Polybius, Vol. 1 (of 2) by Polybius

And no one can read Hume’s Inquiry into the First Principles of Morals without being convinced of this at least, that if a list were drawn up of the qualities of character and conduct that are directly or indirectly productive of pleasure to ourselves or to others, it would include all that are commonly known as virtues.
— from The Methods of Ethics by Henry Sidgwick

The curate listened to him attentively and felt that he was a man of sound understanding, and that there was good reason in what he said; so he told him that, being of the same opinion himself, and bearing a grudge to books of chivalry, he had burned all Don Quixote's, which were many; and gave him an account of the scrutiny he had made of them, and of those he had condemned to the flames and those he had spared, with which the canon was not a little amused, adding that though he had said so much in condemnation of these books, still he found one good thing in them, and that was the opportunity they afforded to a gifted intellect for displaying itself; for they presented a wide and spacious field over which the pen might range freely, describing shipwrecks, tempests, combats, battles, portraying a valiant captain with all the qualifications requisite to make one, showing him sagacious in foreseeing the wiles of the enemy, eloquent in speech to encourage or restrain his soldiers, ripe in counsel, rapid in resolve, as bold in biding his time as in pressing the attack; now picturing some sad tragic incident, now some joyful and unexpected event; here a beauteous lady, virtuous, wise, and modest; there a Christian knight, brave and gentle; here a lawless, barbarous braggart; there a courteous prince, gallant and gracious; setting forth the devotion and loyalty of vassals, the greatness and generosity of nobles.
— from Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

From the same passage we learn that a certain king named Aphrices with an army of 20,000 men and 15 elephants, was killed by his own men and his army joined Alexander.
— from The Anabasis of Alexander or, The History of the Wars and Conquests of Alexander the Great by Arrian

In which Argumentation there be two grosse errours: one is, that all Christian Kings, Popes, Clergy, and all other Christian men, make but one Common-wealth:
— from Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes

But suppose that a Christian King should from this Foundation, Jesus Is The Christ, draw some false consequences, that is to say, make some superstructions of Hay, or Stubble, and command the teaching of the same; yet seeing St. Paul says, he shal be saved; much more shall he be saved, that teacheth them by his command; and much more yet, he that teaches not, but onely beleeves his lawfull Teacher.
— from Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes

So that though ideas formerly imprinted are not all constantly in view, yet in remembrance they are constantly known to be such as have been formerly imprinted; i.e. in view, and taken notice of before, by the understanding.
— from An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, Volume 1 MDCXC, Based on the 2nd Edition, Books 1 and 2 by John Locke

In fact, the whole physical system is often so disturbed that a condition known as “nervous prostration” sets in, in which it is practically impossible for the patient to hold the Mental States which will improve [Pg 202] the Physical Conditions.
— from Mind and Body; or, Mental States and Physical Conditions by William Walker Atkinson

Of the supernatural character of this appearance Captain Kidd himself did not appear to have the slightest doubt.”
— from The Philosophy of Mystery by Walter Cooper Dendy

These oaths—which were, in fact, little else than matters of form—had been for many years the only bond which remained between the ancient Capetian kings and the lords of those provinces which extended between the Loire and the two seas.
— from Cassell's History of England, Vol. 1 (of 8) From the Roman Invasion to the Wars of the Roses by Anonymous

I look upon the whole of the Christian scheme to be a tissue of lies, and Jesus Christ to be nothing more than a cunning knave and imposter.
— from The Christian Foundation, Or, Scientific and Religious Journal, May, 1880 by Various

"It does not appear to me improbable," says Bonnet, "that a certain kind of nutriment, and in more than usual abundance, may cause a development in the grubs of bees, of organs which would never be developed without it.
— from An Introduction to Entomology: Vol. 2 or Elements of the Natural History of the Insects by William Kirby

Hail, god of life, thou lord of love, all men live when thou shinest; thou art crowned king of the gods.
— from Egyptian Ideas of the Future Life by Budge, E. A. Wallis (Ernest Alfred Wallis), Sir

Thus, “she who hath risen from the sea foam,” Venus, was regarded as employing the moistures so needed in perfecting the material dresses of the animal, mineral and vegetable worlds when entering earth conditions: and the ancient masters held that such examples of the doctrine of Sympathies, Similitudes, Signatures and Correspondences guide man to a correct knowledge and understanding of the mysteries of Nature.
— from The Magic and Science of Jewels and Stones by Isidore Kozminsky

The ayah carried Kathleen away in her powerful arms.
— from Alive in the Jungle: A Story for the Young by Eleanor Stredder

The dockyard magazines at Kertch contained quantities of military and naval stores—boiler plates, lathes, engineers' tools, paint, canvas, hemp and chain cables, bales of greatcoats, uniform jackets, trowsers and caps, knapsacks, belts, bayonets, swords, scabbards, anchors, copper nails and bolts, implements of foundry, brass, rudder-pintles, lead, &c.
— from The British Expedition to the Crimea by Russell, William Howard, Sir