Readiness and accuracy in speaking (which taken together constitute Rhetoric) belong to beautiful art; but the art of the orator ( ars oratoria ), the art of availing oneself of the weaknesses of men for one’s own designs (whether these be well meant or even actually good does not matter) is worthy of no respect .
— from Kant's Critique of Judgement by Immanuel Kant

It may seem easy enough to account for all this, by reflecting that the theatrical stage is nothing more than a representation, or, as Aristotle calls it, an imitation of what really exists; and hence, perhaps, we might fairly pay a very high compliment to those who by their writings or actions have been so capable of imitating life, as to have their pictures in a manner confounded with, or mistaken for, the originals.
— from History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding

Begone, or let us try our strength in a fight, in which one must fall."
— from Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

The wife of Manuel fled with her infant sons and her treasure from the relentless enmity of Isaac Angelus.
— 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

And though I still wish to be of use in life, though I still wish to consecrate the whole of my faculties to the service of Truth, I no longer seek my ideals where I was wont to do—they appear to me to stand much nearer home.
— from Fathers and Sons by Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev

These woes of mine fulfil, Here firm I rest; they must be best, Because they are Thy will!
— from Poems and Songs of Robert Burns by Robert Burns

The hour, the summer season, the solitary place, the voice and skill of the singer, all contributed to the wonder and delight of the two listeners, who remained still waiting to hear something more; finding, however, that the silence continued some little time, they resolved to go in search of the musician who sang with so fine a voice; but just as they were about to do so they were checked by the same voice, which once more fell upon their ears, singing this SONNET When heavenward, holy Friendship, thou didst go Soaring to seek thy home beyond the sky, And take thy seat among the saints on high, It was thy will to leave on earth below Thy semblance, and upon it to bestow Thy veil, wherewith at times hypocrisy, Parading in thy shape, deceives the eye, And makes its vileness bright as virtue show.
— from Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Miss Anne, indeed, if her chronic headaches could have been accounted for by a pathetic story of disappointed love, might have had some romantic interest attached to her: but no such story had either been known or invented concerning her, and the general impression was quite in accordance with the fact, that both the sisters were old maids for the prosaic reason that they had never received an eligible offer.
— from Adam Bede by George Eliot

Then the wall opposite me flashed into a golden yellow and dissolved with a rending thunder that hammered my brain into a pulp.
— from The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan

Then, in happy ignorance, I sighed for a world I did not know, where I hoped to find every pleasure and enjoyment which my heart could desire; and now, on my return from that wide world, O my friend, how many disappointed hopes and unsuccessful plans have I brought back!
— from The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

This plain produces sesame plentifully, as also panic and millet and barley and wheat; and it is shut in on all sides by a steep and lofty wall of mountains from sea to sea.
— from Anabasis by Xenophon

He was the smallest offender of the three, and Picot the worst; but it is Hardwin's name which occurs most frequently in these duplicate entries.
— from Feudal England: Historical Studies on the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries by John Horace Round

He had started that great work of making friends—well, not started, but started starting—then he got confused, but the idea was a flame to warm the fog-chilled spaces of the London street.
— from Our Mr. Wrenn: The Romantic Adventures of a Gentle Man by Sinclair Lewis

"And they're all so kind and interested about the money, too," went on Miss Flora, gently rocking to and fro.
— from Oh, Money! Money! A Novel by Eleanor H. (Eleanor Hodgman) Porter

What see ye written on my forehead?”
— from Good Stories for Great Holidays Arranged for Story-Telling and Reading Aloud and for the Children's Own Reading by Frances Jenkins Olcott

This theory presumes that the first fairies were men and women of mortal flesh and blood, and that the later superstitions are a mere echo of tales which first were told of real beings.
— from British Goblins: Welsh Folk-lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions by Wirt Sikes

Be inexorable,' said the abbé, the dupe, like the rest of the world, of M. Ferrand's hypocrisy."
— from The Mysteries of Paris, Volume 3 of 6 by Eugène Sue

The stealthy glances which he occasionally leveled at the windows of Mr. Fairspeckle’s apartment gave an unmistakable clew to his mission.
— from The Gray Phantom by Herman Landon

Upon which I said, "I will order my friends to withdraw also."
— from Court Memoirs of France Series — Complete by Various

So for many weeks on many fronts this calm subsisted yet beneath its stillness what great griefs, what sufferings, what trepidations lay hid!
— from The Flying Spy by Camillo De Carlo