A king has incautiously transferred his soul to an ape, upon which the vizier adroitly inserts his own soul into the king’s body and so takes possession of the queen and the kingdom, while the true king languishes at court in the outward semblance of an ape.
— from The Golden Bough: A Study of Magic and Religion by James George Frazer

The signs of sorrow and mourning, though arbitrary, affect us with melancholy; but the natural symptoms, tears and cries and groans, never fail to infuse compassion and uneasiness.
— from An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals by David Hume

Having thus traced our heroine very particularly back from her departure, till her arrival at Upton, we shall in a very few words bring her father to the same place; who, having received the first scent from the post-boy, who conducted his daughter to Hambrook, very easily traced her afterwards to Gloucester; whence he pursued her to Upton, as he had learned Mr Jones had taken that route (for Partridge, to use the squire's expression, left everywhere a strong scent behind him), and he doubted not in the least but Sophia travelled, or, as he phrased it, ran, the same way.
— from History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding

In men’s clothes, and had the best legs that ever I saw Inconvenience that do attend the increase of a man’s fortune Instructed by Shakespeare himself Jealousy of him and an ugly wench that lived there lately Justi
— from The Diary of Samuel Pepys — Complete by Samuel Pepys

We would then suppose there was something quite different in question than a few less years of an empty, sad existence, embittered by troubles of every kind, and always uncertain: we would rather be amazed that it was a matter of any consequence whether one attained a few years earlier to the place where after an ephemeral existence he has billions of years to be.
— from Introduction to the Science of Sociology by E. W. (Ernest Watson) Burgess

Nature had endowed him with no neck, and had placed his ankles (as usual with that race) in the middle of the upper portion of the feet.
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven Edition Table Of Contents And Index Of The Five Volumes by Edgar Allan Poe

Whilst the happiness and glory of a temporal reign were promised to the disciples of Christ, the most dreadful calamities were denounced against an unbelieving world.
— 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

"Mr. Tulliver," she said, interrupting her husband in his talk with Mr. Deane, "it's time now to tell the children's aunts and uncles what you're thinking of doing with Tom, isn't it?"
— from The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot

He dismounted; and approaching us with the reins in his hand, presently recollected us.
— from Evelina, Or, the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World by Fanny Burney

The adhesion of Pitt, 249 a private member, poor and almost unconnected, was vital to a Government which in the public opinion had already collected every possible element of strength.
— from Lord Chatham, His Early Life and Connections by Rosebery, Archibald Philip Primrose, Earl of

An atom united with one for which it has a strong affinity, has to be transferred to another for which it has a weaker affinity.
— from The Principles of Biology, Volume 1 (of 2) by Herbert Spencer

Devoid of honour, they train machine-guns on ambulances, and accredit us with the same devilish tricks.
— from Eighteen Months in the War Zone The Record of a Woman's Work on the Western Front by Kate John Finze

At a time when death is all around us, when so many of our nearest and dearest and best may pass at any moment through the shadow of death to the judgment which is beyond, it is of infinite comfort
— from The War and the Gospel: Sermons and Addresses During the Present War by Henry Wace

Huckaback, we will hear your sixth voyage to-morrow"—and the pacha retired behind the screen, and, as usual, went into the apartment of the women.
— from The Pacha of Many Tales by Frederick Marryat

I don't at all understand what made you laugh."
— from A Counterfeit Presentment; and, The Parlour Car by William Dean Howells

At that moment it was possible to behold Beauty in its clearness, when, with the choir of the blessed following on, ourselves with Zeus, some with one, some with another, of the gods, they looked upon a blissful vision and view, and were made partakers in what it is meet and right to call the most blessed of all mysteries; the which we celebrated, sound and whole then, and untouched by the evil things that awaited us in time to come, as being admitted to mystic sights, whole and sound and at unity with themselves, in pure light gazing on them, being ourselves pure, and unimpressed by this we carry about now and call our body, imprisoned like a fish in its shell.
— from Plato and Platonism by Walter Pater

The fishermen, who were searching among the rocks, took a tin-box out of the pocket of one of the carcasses that was floating, and found in it the commission of an Admiral, upon which, examining the body more closely, they found it was poor Sir Cloudesley.
— from Cornish Characters and Strange Events by S. (Sabine) Baring-Gould