The news of the death of the wife of his eldest grandson reached Chia Ching; but as he himself felt sure that, at no distant date, he would ascend to the regions above, he was loth to return again to his home, and so expose himself to the contamination of the world, as to completely waste the meritorious excellence acquired in past days.
— from Hung Lou Meng, or, the Dream of the Red Chamber, a Chinese Novel, Book I by Xueqin Cao

A twist of gold was round her hair; a robe Of samite without price, that more exprest Than hid her, clung about her lissome limbs, In colour like the satin-shining palm On sallows in the windy gleams of March:
— from Idylls of the King by Tennyson, Alfred Tennyson, Baron

His zeal and obstinacy were revenged on his brethren: the Magi excited a cruel persecution; and the intolerant zeal of Jezdegerd was imitated by his son Varanes, or Bahram, who soon afterwards ascended the throne.
— 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

The impression felt in our days by the non-initiated is of the same nature as that felt in former times by those who were not initiated in the mysteries enacted at Eleusis in honour of Ceres.
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova

Scarcely thirty years after these memorable events, an enthusiastic priest animated Europe with a fanatical frenzy and precipitated large forces upon Asia to conquer the Holy Land.
— from The Art of War by Jomini, Antoine Henri, baron de

Madam de Warens had seen enough of her to know her character: for having (very innocently) pleased some person to whom Madam de Menthon had pretensions, she found her guilty of the crime of this preference, though Madam de Warens had neither sought after nor accepted it, and from that moment endeavored to play her rival a number of ill turns, none of which succeeded.
— from The Confessions of Jean Jacques Rousseau — Complete by Jean-Jacques Rousseau

“Pollyanna, you ARE the most extraordinary child!
— from Pollyanna by Eleanor H. (Eleanor Hodgman) Porter

I may mention, in order to show how unconsciously the features are thus acted on, that though I had often intentionally shrugged my shoulders to observe how my arms were placed, I was not at all aware that my eyebrows were raised and mouth opened, until I looked at myself in a glass; and since then I have noticed the same movements in the faces of others.
— from The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals by Charles Darwin

Her mother was in despair, for she was passionately fond of the child, and I thought she would have torn my eyes out when I told her that if Sophie died she would only have herself to reproach.
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova

The ladies, of course, were of no consequence to me, except to put me in a good humour with myself, by showing how ugly and awkward most of them were; and the best, mamma told me,—the most transcendent beauties among them, were nothing to me.
— from Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë

"But your majesty is pleased to lend your ears to my enemies," said Voltaire, sullenly; "exactly those who attack me most virulently receive the highest honors at the hands of your majesty.
— from Berlin and Sans-Souci; Or, Frederick the Great and His Friends by L. (Luise) Mühlbach

"Until I knew you, I entertained but one living passion—to find my mother and hold her in my arms—and have of her all that I had ached for through many empty and loveless years.
— from The Hidden Children by Robert W. (Robert William) Chambers

Pawkins, we are alone—Pawkins, as your professional adviser, you are bound to tell me everything.
— from Retained for the Defence: A Farce, in One Act by John Oxenford

We long for the more elegant pursuits, or the ways and fashions, of the town.
— from Life and Literature Over two thousand extracts from ancient and modern writers, and classified in alphabetical order by John Purver Richardson

A remarkable fact was that only one officer, Lieutenant Murray, R.N.R., was hurt or damaged in any way, although the officers were in the most exposed positions, and the enemy's point of aim appeared to be the fore bridge.
— from The Battle of the Falkland Islands, Before and After by Henry Edmund Harvey Spencer-Cooper

[pg 187] have always given utterance to the pathetic language of virtue; they have always been surrounded by crowds of people who felt themselves, as it were, in a state of exaltation and would listen to none but the most elevated oratory.
— from The Dawn of Day by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

“Getting angry would take more energy than I have to expend.”
— from Rilla of the Lighthouse by Grace May North

One way to re-collect the mind easily in the time of prayer, and preserve it more in tranquility, is not to let it wander too far at other times : you should keep it strictly in the presence of GOD; and being accustomed to think of Him often, you will find it easy to keep your mind calm in the time of prayer, or at least to recall it from its wanderings.
— from The Practice of the Presence of God the Best Rule of a Holy Life by Lawrence, of the Resurrection, Brother

THE GREAT ALEXANDER THE MACEDONIAN ESTABLISHES A GREEK WORLD-EMPIRE, AND WHAT BECAME OF THIS HIGH AMBITION WHEN the Achaeans had left their homes along the banks of the Danube to look for pastures new
— from The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem Van Loon