And as he follows it, [5423] Is this no small servitude for an enamourite to be every hour combing his head, stiffening his beard, perfuming his hair, washing his face with sweet water, painting, curling, and not to come abroad but sprucely crowned, decked, and apparelled?
— from The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton

I will therefore say no more on this head, though I could, if I liked, say a good deal; and merely add, that there are good grounds for believing that when Gomara was writing his history, he had been deceived by false information: with him, every circumstance is made to turn to the glory and honour of Cortes, while no mention is made of the other brave officers and soldiers; but, the partiality of this author is sufficiently seen from the circumstance of his having dedicated his work to the present Marquis del Valle, son of Cortes, and not to his majesty the king.
— from The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo, Vol 1 (of 2) Written by Himself Containing a True and Full Account of the Discovery and Conquest of Mexico and New Spain. by Bernal Díaz del Castillo

“When the Lord commands,” said Mordaunt, “His commands are not to be disputed.
— from Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas

sir, that toothless jaw is a d—ned scandalous libel—but don't you imagine me so chopfallen as not to be able to chew the cud of resentment.”
— from The Adventures of Roderick Random by T. (Tobias) Smollett

As the seats cleared, by parties going away, Sir Clement approached nearer to us.
— from Evelina, Or, the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World by Fanny Burney

An unwonted application of corn to the horse, and of paint and varnish to the carriage, when both fell in as a part of the Boffin legacy, had made what Mr Boffin considered a neat turn-out of the whole; and a driver being added, in the person of a long hammer-headed young man who was a very good match for the horse, left nothing to be desired.
— from Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens

Salt is said to be the common instrument of commerce and exchanges in Abyssinia; a species of shells in some parts of the coast of India; dried cod at Newfoundland; tobacco in Virginia; sugar in some of our West India colonies; hides or dressed leather in some other countries; and there is at this day a village in Scotland, where it is not uncommon, I am told, for a workman to carry nails instead of money to the baker's shop or the ale-house.
— from An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith

To-night, disturbed as was his state, he was rather relieved to find company, and now that notabilities were gathered, he laid aside his troubles for the nonce, and joined in right heartily.
— from Sister Carrie: A Novel by Theodore Dreiser

But it was the noxious vapours proceeding from the various processes of manufacture classified as “noxious trades” which rendered the atmosphere in many parts of London dangerous to health.
— from The Sanitary Evolution of London by Henry (Henry Lorenzo) Jephson

As I found it impossible to proceed, I rode back to the level ground, and directing my course to the eastward, came about noon to another glen, and discovered a path on which I observed the marks of horses feet.
— from Life and Travels of Mungo Park by Mungo Park

Wherefore thus much is certain and not to be denied, that a man who was demented for fourteen years, up till the seventh day of this month, is now on the fourteenth day of this month in his sound mind and to all appearance likely to remain therein; and this has been wrought by certain words uttered by this Simeon Niger.
— from Onesimus: Memoirs of a Disciple of St. Paul by Edwin Abbott Abbott

When a child is named, the father drops his former name and substitutes that of the child, so that the father receives his name from the child, and not the child from the father.
— from The Native Races [of the Pacific states], Volume 1, Wild Tribes The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft, Volume 1 by Hubert Howe Bancroft

They had not contributed anything new to the dispute.
— from Life of Luther by Julius Köstlin

They had come for the mere pleasure of the coming; and now they rested, contentedly enjoying the apples which Blue Bonnet had supplied—it being her week to provide the refreshments, which were always a part of these Saturday afternoon tramps.
— from A Texas Blue Bonnet by Caroline Emilia Jacobs

The hind-wings are dull yellowish-brown near the base, becoming blackish towards the termen; there is a small cream-coloured area near the base, then two rather broad, slightly irregular, cream-coloured bands, and a rather fine wavy white line near the termen.
— from New Zealand Moths and Butterflies (Macro-Lepidoptera) by G. V. (George Vernon) Hudson

The law which condemns the challenger, and not the aggressor, is a bad law: or, at least, since the couragous man is generous, it should be better to have no law against dueling, and then, few cowards would dare to speak, or write against their fellow beings.
— from Why a National Literature Cannot Flourish in the United States of North America by Joseph Rocchietti