Quick Excerpts, from a Library of 492 Titles

Generated 2022-07-28 13:25:48

Excerpt #1, from Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare

…And so bestow these papers as you bade me. CASSIUS. That done, repair to Pompey’s theatre. [Exit Cinna.] Come, Casca, you and I will yet, ere day, See Brutus at his house: three parts of him Is ours already, and the man entire Upon the next encounter, yields him ours. CASCA. O, he sits high in all the people’s hearts! And that which would appear offence in us, His countenance, like richest alchemy, Will change to virtue and to worthiness. CASSIUS. Him, and his worth, and our great need of him, You have right well conceited. Let us go, For it is after midnight; and ere day, We will awake him, and be sure of him. [Exeunt.] ACT II SCENE I. Rome. Brutus’ orchard….

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Excerpt #2, from The King James Version of the Bible

…hath been seen of the priest for his cleansing, he shall be seen of the priest again. 13:8 And if the priest see that, behold, the scab spreadeth in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a leprosy. 13:9 When the plague of leprosy is in a man, then he shall be brought unto the priest; 13:10 And the priest shall see him: and, behold, if the rising be white in the skin, and it have turned the hair white, and there be quick raw flesh in the rising; 13:11 It is an old leprosy in the skin of his flesh, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean, and shall not shut him up: for he is unclean. 13:12 And if a leprosy break out abroad in the skin, and the leprosy cover all the skin of him that hath the plague from his head even to his foot, wheresoever the priest looketh; 13:13 Then the priest shall consider: and, behold, if the leprosy have covered all his flesh, he shall pronounce him clean that hath the plague: it is all turned white: he is clean. 13:14 But when raw flesh appeareth in him, he shall be unclean. 13:15 And the priest shall see the raw flesh, and pronounce him to be unclean: for the raw flesh is unclean: it is a leprosy. 13:16 Or if the raw flesh turn again, and be changed unto white, he shall come unto the priest; 13:17 And the priest shall see him: and,…

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Excerpt #3, from Derelicts: An Account of Ships Lost at Sea in General Commercial Traffic, by Sprunt

…Radio San Juan, and the U.S.S. Albert: March 22, 1918. “U.S.S. Cyclops sailed from Barbados March 4 for Baltimore. Now about ten days overdue. Endeavor communicate Cyclops by radio and ascertain location and condition.” The following day the Navy Department sent a similar message to the commander of Squadron I, Patrol Force, Atlantic fleet. On March 24 the station at Charleston, S.C., reported that at intervals for twenty-three hours messages by radio had been sent in an endeavor to locate the Cyclops, but without success. Commander Belknap directed that calls be continued, and on March 26 the Navy Department sent the following message to the Governor of the Virgin Islands: “U.S.S. Cyclops sailed from Barbados March 4 for Baltimore. Has not yet arrived. Have you any information regarding this vessel passing St. Thomas?” The reply was “No information regarding U.S. S. Cyclops.” Every station within radio communication of her route and every ship within call during the time of her passage, including foreign ships, was asked for any fragment of information. The search was continued as long as it seemed possible to gain news of her, but nothing definite was ever heard. The only suggestion of how she may have been lost is…

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Excerpt #4, from The Coral Island, by R. M. Ballantyne

…when a yell, the most appalling that ever fell upon my ear, rose high above the shouting of the savages. It had not died away when another and another smote upon my throbbing ear, and then I saw that these inhuman monsters were actually launching their canoe over the living bodies of their victims. But there was no pity in the breasts of these men. Forward they went in ruthless indifference, shouting as they went, while high above their voices rang the dying shrieks of those wretched creatures as, one after another, the ponderous canoe passed over them, burst the eyeballs from their sockets, and sent the life-blood gushing from their mouths. Oh reader, this is no fiction! I would not, for the sake of thrilling you with horror, invent so terrible a scene. It was witnessed. It is true–true as that accursed sin which has rendered the human heart capable of such diabolical enormities! When it was over I turned round and fell upon the grass with a deep groan; but Bill seized me by the arm, and lifting me up as if I had been a child, cried: “Come along, lad; let’s away!” And so, staggering and stumbling over the tangled underwood, we fled from the fatal spot. During the remainder of that day I felt as if I were in a horrible dream. I scarce knew what was said to me, and was more than once blamed by the men for idling my time. At last the hour to return aboard came….

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Excerpt #5, from A collection of Latin maxims and phrases literally translated, by John N. Cotterell

…ed. p. 378.) This presumption of satisfaction, however, does not arise where the debt was not contracted until after the will was made, or where it was secured by a Bill of Exchange or other negotiable instrument, or where the legacy was contingent, not payable immediately on testator’s death, or of a specific chattel. (See Snell’s Equity, 16th ed. p. 184; also Max. No. 56.) =* 55. Delegatus non potest delegare.= An agent cannot delegate his authority. A principal (except by his own assent) is not bound by the acts or contracts of subagents unless they be of necessity, or in accordance with the usual custom of trade. Delegata potestas non potest delegari. (See Chitty on Contracts, 16th ed. p. 278; and Maxs. Nos. 194, 208, and 280.) =56. Delicatus debitor est odiosus in lege.= An extravagant debtor is contemned in the eye of the law. By the Bankruptcy Act, 1883, the Court may either refuse a bankrupt his discharge, or suspend its operation, on proof that he has brought on his bankruptcy by an unjustifiable extravagance in living. (See Max. No. 54.) =57. Dentur omnes decimae primariae ecclesiae ad quam parochia pertinet.= _All tithes must be paid to the Mother Church to which…

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Excerpt #6, from Thought Forms, by Annie Besant and C. W. Leadbeater

…prayer is seen producing forms like the fronds of a fern, another like rain pouring upwards, if the phrase may be permitted. A rippled oblong mass is projected by three persons thinking of their unity in affection. A young boy sorrowing over and caressing a dead bird is surrounded by a flood of curved interwoven threads of emotional disturbance. A strong vortex is formed by a feeling of deep sadness. Looking at this most interesting and suggestive series, it is clear that in these pictures that which is obtained is not the thought-image, but the effect caused in etheric matter by its vibrations, and it is necessary to clairvoyantly see the thought in order to understand the results produced. In fact, the illustrations are instructive for what they do not show directly, as well as for the images that appear. It may be useful to put before students, a little more plainly than has hitherto been done, some of the facts in nature which will render more intelligible the results at which Dr Baraduc is arriving. Necessarily imperfect these must be, a physical photographic camera and sensitive plates not being ideal instruments for astral research; but, as will be seen from the above, they are most interesting and valuable as forming a link between clairvoyant and physical scientific investigations. At the present time observers outside the Theosophical Society are concerning themselves with the fact that emotional changes show their…

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Excerpt #7, from The Third Officer: A Present

…another breaker crashed, whirling the three human beings like leaves in an autumn gale. Down went Burgoyne, retaining his grip with the energy of despair, and when next he came to the surface he was aware of two hands grasping his shoulder. Minalto had vanished, while Hilda, only just conscious, was instinctively clinging to her now sole support. After that things became a bit hazy. Alwyn found himself swimming mechanically with one arm, while the other held up his charge. He was dimly aware that the sea was no longer breaking but was a succession of heavy, crestless rollers, the tops feathered with spray flung upward by the howling wind. “We’re over the reef!” he exclaimed to himself. “But what’s beyond?” That was the question. If there were land he knew that he would have to contend with the dreaded undertow, and already well-nigh exhausted the prospect was not inviting. But if there were no land–? He shuddered to think of that possibility, when, drifting farther and farther from the lee of the reef into a boundless waste of tempestuous water, nothing but a slow death by drowning confronted all the crew of the luckless life-boat. He wondered, too, what fate had befallen Mostyn and Jasper. The latter had gone, no doubt dashed against the reef that had let Alwyn and Hilda down so lightly. And…

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Excerpt #8, from Tales from a Rolltop Desk, by Christopher Morley

…Miss Stafford knew perfectly well that he was fifty-five, but she had learned the cunning of all women who have to manage men, whether those men be husbands, employers, or ticket scalpers. “Why, Mr. Veal, in a good light and in your new suit, I should say about thirty-nine.” “What are you getting now, Miss Stafford?” “Thirty dollars.” “Tell Mr. Mason to double it.” The feminine mind moves in rapid zigzags, and Miss Stafford’s first conscious and coherent thought was of a certain woollen sports suit she had seen in a window on Vincent Street marked $50.00. “And by the way,” said Mr. Veal, “when you see Mr. Mason, tell him I’ve got a new motto for next week’s pay envelopes. Here it is; I found it in the paper this morning. I don’t know who wrote it–better have him credit it to Orison Swett Marden.” He handed her a slip of paper, on which he had copied out: Though I look old, yet I am strong and lusty; For in my youth I never did apply Hot and rebellious liquors in my blood: Nor did not with unbashful forehead woo The means of weakness and debility….

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Excerpt #9, from Mr. Dooley in Peace and in War, by Finley Peter Dunne

…iv no wrong I’ve done. If me mim’ry is at fault, please note. Me car-eer is an open book. I’ve held nawthin’ back fr’m th’ public, not even whin ‘twas mar-rked private. I can say with th’ pote that I done me jooty. But, oh, Chanse! don’t iver aspire to my job. Be sicrety of war, if ye will; but niver be sicrety iv A war. Do not offer this letter to th’ newspapers. Make thim take it. How’s things goin’ with ye, ol’ pal? I hope to see ye at th’ seaside. Till thin, I’m yours, sick at heart, but atin’ reg’lar. RUSS.’" “Well,” said Mr. Hennessy, “th’ poor man must’ve had a har-rd time iv it.” “He did,” said Mr. Dooley. “Niver laid his head to a pillow before eight, up with th’ moon: he’s suffered as no man can tell. But he’ll be all r-right whin his mind’s at r-rest.” ON THE PRESIDENT’S CAT. "‘Twas this way about Dr. Huckenlooper. Mack has a cat that was give him f’r a Chris’mas prisint be me frind Pierpont Morgan, an’ th’ cat was a gr-reat favor-ite in th’ White House. ‘Twas as quite as th’ Sicrety iv Agriculture an’ as affectionate as th’ Sicrety iv th’ Three-asury. Th’ cat was called Goold Bonds, because iv th’ inthrest he dhrew. He very often played with th’ Sicrety iv th’ Navy, an’ ivry wan that come to th’ White House f’r a job loved him….

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Excerpt #10, from The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer; the Art of Controversy, by Arthur Schopenhauer

…viii., c. 1. It is a trick which needs no illustration. V. To prove the truth of a proposition, you may also employ previous propositions that are not true, should your opponent refuse to admit the true ones, either because he fails to perceive their truth, or because he sees that the thesis immediately follows from them. In that case the plan is to take propositions which are false in themselves but true for your opponent, and argue from the way in which he thinks, that is to say, ex concessis. For a true conclusion may follow from false premisses, but not vice versâ. In the same fashion your opponent’s false propositions may be refuted by other false propositions, which he, however, takes to be true; for it is with him that you have to do, and you must use the thoughts that he uses. For instance, if he is a member of some sect to which you do not belong, you may employ the declared, opinions of this sect against him, as principles.[1] [Footnote 1: Aristotle, Topica bk. viii., chap. 2.] VI. Another plan is to beg the question in disguise by postulating what has to be proved, either (1) under another name; for instance, “good repute” instead of “honour”; “virtue” instead of “virginity,” etc.;…

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Excerpt #11, from The Boy Inventors’ Radio Telephone, by Richard Bonner

…“I waded out inter ther water as far as I dared and by some freak of the current the man who had toppled out of the boat came within my reach. I grabbed him and dragged him ashore, more dead than alive. I done what I could for him and he came to after a while. That was how I met Blue Nose Sanchez.”Well, sir, Blue Nose was a mighty sick man, even then. He had fever and was a ravin’ lunatic at times, but at intervals he made out to tell me suthin’ of his story. Him and his partner, a fellow he called Foxy Joe, was on their way to find a little island down ther river where no white man but only one had been. This man was a friend of Foxy Joe’s and the two met up in Yuma. Foxy’s friend had a lot to tell him about a wonderful island some Injuns had told him about whar there was some sort of mysterious mineral. By what Joe could make out this mineral was nuthin’ more nor less than radium." “Radium!” exclaimed the boys. “That’s right,” went on the miner. "Foxy’s friend allowed that there was cartloads of it lyin’ loose thar ‘cording to the description the Injuns give him, and he showed Foxy a sample of the stuff. That sample is in this little lead-wrapped bottle. It’s wrapped in lead ’cos otherwise it ’ud make sores on you when you carry it about. It’s workin’, workin’ all the time, frum what I kin make out….

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Excerpt #12, from The Principles of the Art of Conversation, by J. P. Mahaffy

…this preference were shared by all society. But even the young must be here perpetually upon the watch, and show their tact by refraining from too many questions or too much argument upon any single subject, which becomes a bore to others.[6] Every host and hostess should make it their first duty to watch this human weakness, and should lead away the conversation when it threatens to stay in the same groove. It is better to do this bluntly and confessedly than to refrain from doing it. But the quality of tact, as it quickly perceives the growing mischief, is also quick of resource in devising such interruptions as may seem natural or unavoidable, so as to beguile the company into new paths, and even make the too persistent members lay aside their threadbare discussion without regret. Footnote 6: Even too careful an attention to grammar, and the careful rounding of periods in easy intercourse, is apt to be tedious, and should be avoided. The instant the company has grasped your idea, you should pass to something else without regard to the form of your sentence. ———————————————————————— CONDITIONS TOO GENERAL—MORAL WORTH AND TRUTHFULNESS § 26. In all the faculties hitherto enumerated, it has been my principle to select and specify those which are capable of improvement by…

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