Quick Excerpts, from a Library of 492 Titles

Generated 2022-07-28 13:25:44

Excerpt #1, from Utilitarianism, by John Stuart Mill

…feeling tends to make us resent indiscriminately whatever any one does that is disagreeable to us; but when moralized by the social feeling, it only acts in the directions conformable to the general good; just persons resenting a hurt to society, though not otherwise a hurt to themselves, and not resenting a hurt to themselves, however painful, unless it be of the kind which society has a common interest with them in the repression of. It is no objection against this doctrine to say, that when we feel our sentiment of justice outraged, we are not thinking of society at large, or of any collective interest, but only of the individual case. It is common enough certainly, though the reverse of commendable, to feel resentment merely because we have suffered pain; but a person whose resentment is really a moral feeling, that is, who considers whether an act is blameable before he allows himself to resent it–such a person, though he may not say expressly to himself that he is standing up for the interest of society, certainly does feel that he is asserting a rule which is for the benefit of others as well as for his own. If he is not feeling this–if he is regarding the act solely as it affects him individually–he is not consciously just; he is not concerning himself about the justice of his actions. This is admitted even by anti-utilitarian moralists. When Kant (as before remarked) propounds as…

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Excerpt #2, from The Topaz Story Book: Stories and Legends of Autumn, Hallowe’en, and

…ANN TRUMBULL SLOSSON Used by permission of Chas. Scribner and Sons. Once there was a posy. ’Twa’n’t a common kind o’ posy, that blows out wide open, so’s everybody can see its outsides and its insides too. But ’twas one of them posies like what grows down the road, back o’ your pa’s sugar-house, Danny, and don’t come till way towards fall. They’re sort o’ blue, but real dark, and they look’s if they was buds ’stead o’ posies–only buds opens out, and these doesn’t. They’re all shet up close and tight, and they never, never, never opens. Never mind how much sun they get, never mind how much rain or how much drouth, whether it’s cold or hot, them posies stay shet up tight, kind o’ buddy, and not finished and humly. But if you pick ’em open, real careful, with a pin,–I’ve done it,–you find they’re dreadful pretty inside. You couldn’t see a posy that was finished off better, soft and nice, with pretty little stripes painted on ’em, and all the little things like threads in the middle, sech as the open posies has, standing up, with little knots on their tops, oh, so pretty,–you never did! Makes you think real hard, that does; leastways, makes me. What’s they that way for? If they ain’t never goin’ to open out, what’s the use o’ havin’ the shet-up part so slicked up and nice, with nobody never…

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Excerpt #3, from An Account of Egypt, by Herodotus

…hold most in honour of all, namely the Oracle of Leto which is in the city of Buto. The manner of divination however is not established among them according to the same fashion everywhere, but is different in different places. The art of medicine among them is distributed thus:–each physician is a physician of one disease and of no more; and the whole country is full of physicians, for some profess themselves to be physicians of the eyes, others of the head, others of the teeth, others of the affections of the stomach, and others of the more obscure ailments. Their fashions of mourning and of burial are these:–Whenever any household has lost a man who is of any regard amongst them, the whole number of women of that house forthwith plaster over their heads or even their faces with mud. Then leaving the corpse within the house they go themselves to and fro about the city and beat themselves, with their garments bound up by a girdle and their breasts exposed, and with them go all the women who are related to the dead man, and on the other side the men beat themselves, they too having their garments bound up by a girdle; and when they have done this, they then convey the body to the embalming. In this occupation certain persons employ themselves regularly and inherit this as a craft. These, whenever a corpse is conveyed to them, show to those who brought it wooden models of corpses…

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Excerpt #4, from The Republic, by Plato

…greatly admired by this people because they had all things in common; and the short prayer which Jesus Christ taught men is used in their worship. It is a duty of the chief magistrates to pardon sins, and therefore the whole people make secret confession of them to the magistrates, and they to their chief, who is a sort of Rector Metaphysicus; and by this means he is well informed of all that is going on in the minds of men. After confession, absolution is granted to the citizens collectively, but no one is mentioned by name. There also exists among them a practice of perpetual prayer, performed by a succession of priests, who change every hour. Their religion is a worship of God in Trinity, that is of Wisdom, Love and Power, but without any distinction of persons. They behold in the sun the reflection of His glory; mere graven images they reject, refusing to fall under the ‘tyranny’ of idolatry. Many details are given about their customs of eating and drinking, about their mode of dressing, their employments, their wars. Campanella looks forward to a new mode of education, which is to be a study of nature, and not of Aristotle. He would not have his citizens waste their time in the consideration of what he calls ‘the dead signs of things.’ He remarks that he who knows one science only, does not really know that one any more than the rest, and insists strongly on the…

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Excerpt #5, from The Pirates Own Book, by Charles Ellms

…opportunity occurring, he, with the mate of the Ocean, and nine of his crew, seized two whale boats, imprudently left on the banks of the river, and rowed off. Before quitting the shore, they took the precaution of staving all the other boats, to prevent pursuit, and accordingly, though their escape was immediately discovered, they succeeded in getting so much the start of the people whom Benavides sent in pursuit of them, that they reached St. Mary’s Island in safety. Here they caught several seals upon which they subsisted very miserably till they reached Valparaiso. It was in consequence of their report of Benavides proceedings made to Sir Thomas Hardy, the commander-in-chief, that he deemed it proper to send a ship to rescue if possible, the remaining unfortunate captives at Arauca. Benavides having manned the Herculia, it suited the mate, (the captain and crew being detained as hostages,) to sail with the brig to Chili, and seek aid from the Spanish governor. The Herculia returned with a twenty-four pounder, two field-pieces, eleven Spanish officers, and twenty soldiers, together with the most flattering letters and congratulations to the worthy ally of his Most Catholic Majesty. Soon after this he captured the Perseverance, English whaler, and the American brig Ocean, bound for Lima, with several thousand stand of arms on board. The captain of the Herculia, with the mate of the Ocean, and…

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Excerpt #6, from A Guide to the Scientific Knowledge of Things Familiar, by Ebenezer Cobham Brewer

…Q. Why will the AIR SWELL, if the bladder be laid before the fire? A. Because the heat of the fire gets between the particles of air, and drives them further apart from each other; which causes the bladder to expand. Q. Why do unslit CHESTNUTS CRACK with a loud noise, when ROASTED? A. Chestnuts contain a great deal of air, which is expanded by the heat of the fire; and, as the thick rind prevents the air from escaping, it violently bursts through, slitting the rind, and making a great noise. Q. What occasions the loud CRACK or report which we hear? A. 1st–The sudden bursting of the rind makes a report, in the same way as a piece of wood or glass would do, if snapped in two: and 2ndly–The escape of hot air from the chestnut makes a report also, in the same way as gunpowder, when it escapes from a gun. Q. Why does the sudden BURSTING of the rind, or SNAPPING of a piece of wood, make a REPORT? A. As the attraction of the parts is suddenly overcome, a violent jerk is given to the air; this jerk produces rapid undulations in the air, which (striking upon the ear) give the brain the sensation of sound. Q. Why does the ESCAPE OF AIR from the chestnut, or the EXPLOSION of GUNPOWDER, produce a REPORT? A. Because a quantity of air (suddenly let loose) _pushes against the…

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Excerpt #7, from Radio Active Substances, by Marie Curie

…substance which generates them is very great, since the rays proceeding from deep layers produce no significant effect. The figures I obtained with thorium compounds enable me to state:— Firstly, that the thickness of the layer used has considerable effect, especially in the case of the oxide. Secondly, that the action is only regular if a sufficiently thin layer is used (e.g., 0·25 m.m.). On the contrary, when a thick layer of the substance is used (6 m.m.), the figures obtained vary between two extreme limits, especially in the case of the oxide:— Thickness of layer. i × 10^{11}. M.m. Thorium oxide 0·25 2·2 Thorium oxide 0·5 2·5 Thorium oxide 2·5 4·7 Thorium oxide 3·0 5·5 (mean) Thorium oxide 6·0 5·5 (mean) Thorium sulphate 0·25 0·8 (mean) There is here some cause of irregularities which do not exist in the case of the uranium compounds. The figures obtained for a layer of oxide 6 m.m. thick varied between 3·7 and 7·3. The experiments that I made on the absorption of uranium and thorium…

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Excerpt #8, from Seventh Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, by John Wesley Powell

…Clallams or the Nisqually, and is not understood by any of their neighbors. In fact, they seem to have maintained it a State secret. To what family it will ultimately be referred, cannot now be decided.” Eells also asserts the distinctness of this language from any of its neighbors. Neither of the above authors assigned the language family rank, and accordingly Mr. Gatschet, who has made a comparison of vocabularies and finds the language to be quite distinct from any other, gives it the above name. The Chimakum are said to have been formerly one of the largest and most powerful tribes of Puget Sound. Their warlike habits early tended to diminish their numbers, and when visited by Gibbs in 1854 they counted only about seventy individuals. This small remnant occupied some fifteen small lodges on Port Townsend Bay. According to Gibbs “their territory seems to have embraced the shore from Port Townsend to Port Ludlow.”[31] In 1884 there were, according to Mr. Myron Eells, about twenty individuals left, most of whom are living near Port Townsend, Washington. Three or four live upon the Skokomish Reservation at the southern end of Hood’s Canal. [Footnote 31: Dr. Boas was informed in 1889, by a surviving Chimakum woman and several Clallam, that the tribe was confined to the peninsula between Hood’s Canal and Port Townsend.]…

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Excerpt #9, from The Beetle: A Mystery, by Richard Marsh

…and nothing you can say will turn me from it. Paul, as you are very well aware, is already overweighted with affairs of state, pretty nearly borne down by them,–or I would take the tale to him, and he would talk to you after a fashion of his own. Things being as they are, I propose to show you that, although I am not yet Paul’s wife, I can make his interests my own as completely as though I were. I can, therefore, only repeat that it is for you to decide what you intend to do; but, if you prefer to stay, I shall go with Mr Holt,–alone.’ ‘Understand that, when the time for regret comes–as it will come!–you are not to blame me for having done what I advised you not to do.’ ‘My dear Mr Atherton, I will undertake to do my utmost to guard your spotless reputation; I should be sorry that anyone should hold you responsible for anything I either said or did.’ ‘Very well!–Your blood be on your own head!’ ‘My blood?’ ‘Yes,–your blood. I shouldn’t be surprised if it comes to blood before we’re through.–Perhaps you’ll oblige me with the loan of one of that arsenal of revolvers of which you spoke.’ I let him have his old revolver,–or, rather, I let him have one of papa’s new ones. He put it in the hip pocket in his trousers. And the expedition started,–in a four-wheeled cab….

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Excerpt #10, from Shakespeare’s Sonnets, by William Shakespeare

…My bonds in thee are all determinate. For how do I hold thee but by thy granting? And for that riches where is my deserving? The cause of this fair gift in me is wanting, And so my patent back again is swerving. Thyself thou gav’st, thy own worth then not knowing, Or me to whom thou gav’st it, else mistaking; So thy great gift, upon misprision growing, Comes home again, on better judgement making. Thus have I had thee, as a dream doth flatter, In sleep a king, but waking no such matter. LXXXVIII When thou shalt be dispos’d to set me light, And place my merit in the eye of scorn, Upon thy side, against myself I’ll fight, And prove thee virtuous, though thou art forsworn. With mine own weakness, being best acquainted, Upon thy part I can set down a story Of faults conceal’d, wherein I am attainted; That thou in losing me shalt win much glory: And I by this will be a gainer too;…

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Excerpt #11, from The Reign of Greed, by José Rizal

…at all." “Maria Clara!” exclaimed Basilio. “Yes, Maria Clara,” repeated Simoun, and for the first time his voice became human and compassionate. “I want to save her; to save her I have wished to live, I have returned. I am starting the revolution, because only a revolution can open the doors of the nunneries.” “Ay!” sighed Basilio, clasping his hands. “You’ve come late, too late!” “Why?” inquired Simoun with a frown. “Maria Clara is dead!” Simoun arose with a bound and stood over the youth. “She’s dead?” he demanded in a terrible voice. “This afternoon, at six. By now she must be–” “It’s a lie!” roared Simoun, pale and beside himself. “It’s false! Maria Clara lives, Maria Clara must live! It’s a cowardly excuse! She’s not dead, and this night I’ll free her or tomorrow you die!” Basilio shrugged his shoulders. "Several days ago she was taken ill and I went to the nunnery for news of her. Look, here is Padre Salvi’s letter, brought by Padre Irene. Capitan Tiago wept all the evening, kissing his daughter’s picture and begging her forgiveness, until at last he smoked an enormous quantity of opium. This evening her knell…

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Excerpt #12, from The Sky Detectives; Or, How Jack Ralston Got His Man, by Ambrose Newcomb

…With his accustomed sagacity Jack made notes of some of the facts thus laid before him; but since these were in shorthand, and would be utterly unintelligible to any outside party, should they chance to fall into enemy hands, there was no danger that any mischief would follow. By degrees he was filling up with scraps of description, and everything connected with former attempts at locating the hideout, where all this unlawful scrip was being turned off the press, to flood the Southwest. That was always his way of doing—when given a tough job Jack would live alongside it, breathing the very atmosphere of the undertaking, until he found himself sympathetic with the aims and ambitions of the criminals whose apprehension was placed on his shoulders by his Big Boss. “We’ll have dinner early, Perk,” he told the other, who had been carrying out a number of special duties while Jack was busy elsewhere, “so as to retire to our room at the hotel. No going out after nightfall for us just at present, especially in a strange city, where some sneak might waylay us coming back from the theater. All that sort of pleasure must be put out of our heads just at present.” “Huh! guess you’re hittin’ the nail on the head, old hoss, when you say that,” grunted Perk, who very probably had already picked out just the screen play he wanted so badly to see; but he was a good scout, and able to put duty above pleasure, when the occasion arose for making a…

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