Quick Excerpts, from a Library of 492 Titles

Generated 2022-07-28 13:26:07

Excerpt #1, from Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen

…giving her husband a gentle reprimand on the subject five or six times every day. The young ladies arrived: their appearance was by no means ungenteel or unfashionable. Their dress was very smart, their manners very civil, they were delighted with the house, and in raptures with the furniture, and they happened to be so doatingly fond of children that Lady Middleton’s good opinion was engaged in their favour before they had been an hour at the Park. She declared them to be very agreeable girls indeed, which for her ladyship was enthusiastic admiration. Sir John’s confidence in his own judgment rose with this animated praise, and he set off directly for the cottage to tell the Miss Dashwoods of the Miss Steeles’ arrival, and to assure them of their being the sweetest girls in the world. From such commendation as this, however, there was not much to be learned; Elinor well knew that the sweetest girls in the world were to be met with in every part of England, under every possible variation of form, face, temper and understanding. Sir John wanted the whole family to walk to the Park directly and look at his guests. Benevolent, philanthropic man! It was painful to him even to keep a third cousin to himself. “Do come now,” said he—“pray come—you must come—I declare you shall come—You can’t think how you will like them. Lucy is monstrous pretty,…

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Excerpt #2, from Leviathan, by Thomas Hobbes

…Common-wealth. Nothing Done To A Man, By His Own Consent Can Be Injury Whatsoever is done to a man, conformable to his own Will signified to the doer, is no Injury to him. For if he that doeth it, hath not passed away his originall right to do what he please, by some Antecedent Covenant, there is no breach of Covenant; and therefore no Injury done him. And if he have; then his Will to have it done being signified, is a release of that Covenant; and so again there is no Injury done him. Justice Commutative, And Distributive Justice of Actions, is by Writers divided into Commutative, and Distributive; and the former they say consisteth in proportion Arithmeticall; the later in proportion Geometricall. Commutative therefore, they place in the equality of value of the things contracted for; And Distributive, in the distribution of equall benefit, to men of equall merit. As if it were Injustice to sell dearer than we buy; or to give more to a man than he merits. The value of all things contracted for, is measured by the Appetite of the Contractors: and therefore the just value, is that which they be contented to give. And Merit (besides that which is by Covenant, where the performance on one part, meriteth the performance of the other part, and falls under Justice Commutative, not Distributive,) is not due by Justice; but is rewarded of Grace…

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Excerpt #3, from Fifteen Thousand Useful Phrases, by Grenville Kleiser

…undignified and futile uneasiness and apprehension uneducated and inexperienced unfamiliar and distant unfettered and vigorous unforced and unchecked unfortunate and unparalleled unfounded and incredible ungracious and reluctant unhappiness and discomfort unique and original unity and completeness unjust and ungrateful unlimited and absolute unnatural and harmful unobserved and unsuspected unobtrusive and tactful unparalleled and inexhaustible unpleasant and bewildering unpopular and unimpressive unprecedented and objectionable…

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Excerpt #4, from The Murder on the Links, by Agatha Christie

…away on a holiday. Finally there are Madame Renauld and her son, M. Jack Renauld. He, too, is away from home at present.” Poirot bowed his head. M. Hautet spoke: “Marchaud!” The sergent de ville__ appeared. “Bring in the woman Françoise.” The man saluted, and disappeared. In a moment or two, he returned, escorting the frightened Françoise. “You name is Françoise Arrichet?” “Yes, monsieur.” “You have been a long time in service at the Villa Geneviève?” “Eleven years with Madame la Vicomtesse. Then when she sold the Villa this spring, I consented to remain on with the English milor. Never did I imagine—” The magistrate cut her short. “Without doubt, without doubt. Now, Françoise, in this matter of the front door, whose business was it to fasten it at night?” “Mine, monsieur. Always I saw to it myself.” “And last night?” “I fastened it as usual.” “You are sure of that?”…

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Excerpt #5, from Essays of a Biologist, by Julian Huxley

…intensity and lasting value, which as a matter of record it often does.[43] Put broadly and roughly, there are, then, three main accounts possible, or at any rate actually found in occidental civilization to-day, of the phenomena generally known as religious. The first is that of the out-and-out sceptic–that they are all illusions, imaginations of the childhood of the race. This is an extreme view which I do not feel called upon to discuss. The second is the view of almost every existing religious denomination in Europe–that God is a personal being. And the third is one, only just beginning to take shape, which I have endeavoured, with every consciousness of inadequacy, to outline–the account made possible by a radically scientific view of the universe. Those who adopt the third attitude believe that the second is a purely symbolic and not very accurate presentation of certain fundamental facts, of which they are attempting to give what seems to them an account which is closer to reality. Before the scientific work of the last three or four centuries, it was impossible to attempt what we may call a realistic account of this nature, so that symbols were perforce adopted. In Christian theology man formulated a coherent scheme, which, however, was purely symbolic, to account for the facts we have just been considering. The chief feature in any such scheme must be the…

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Excerpt #6, from A Study in Scarlet, by Arthur Conan Doyle

…“We have it all here,” said Gregson, pointing to a litter of objects upon one of the bottom steps of the stairs. “A gold watch, No. 97163, by Barraud, of London. Gold Albert chain, very heavy and solid. Gold ring, with masonic device. Gold pin–bull-dog’s head, with rubies as eyes. Russian leather card-case, with cards of Enoch J. Drebber of Cleveland, corresponding with the E. J. D. upon the linen. No purse, but loose money to the extent of seven pounds thirteen. Pocket edition of Boccaccio’s ‘Decameron,’ with name of Joseph Stangerson upon the fly-leaf. Two letters–one addressed to E. J. Drebber and one to Joseph Stangerson.” “At what address?” “American Exchange, Strand–to be left till called for. They are both from the Guion Steamship Company, and refer to the sailing of their boats from Liverpool. It is clear that this unfortunate man was about to return to New York.” “Have you made any inquiries as to this man, Stangerson?” “I did it at once, sir,” said Gregson. “I have had advertisements sent to all the newspapers, and one of my men has gone to the American Exchange, but he has not returned yet.” “Have you sent to Cleveland?” “We telegraphed this morning.”…

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Excerpt #7, from The Satyricon — Complete, by Petronius Arbiter

…pitying head with my sharp knuckles. In tears, he sat upon the bed, while I applied each eye in turn, to the opening, filling myself up as with a dainty dish, with Eumolpus’ misfortunes, and gloating over their prolongation, when Bargates, agent for the building, called from his dinner, was carried into the midst of the brawl by two chair-men, for he had the gout. He carried on for some time against drunkards and fugitive slaves, in a savage tone and with a barbarous accent, and then, looking around and catching sight of Eumolpus, “What,” he exclaimed, “are you here, nay prince of poets? and these damned slaves don’t scatter at once and stop their brawling!” (Then, whispering in Eumolpus’ ear,) “My bedfellow’s got an idea that she’s finer-haired than I am; lampoon her in a poem, if you think anything of me, and make ‘er ashamed.” CHAPTER THE NINETY-SEVENTH. Eumolpus was speaking privately with Bargates, when a crier attended by a public slave entered the inn, accompanied by a medium-sized crowd of outsiders. Waving a torch that gave out more smoke than light, he announced: “Strayed from the baths, a short time ago, a boy about sixteen years of age, curly headed, a minion, handsome, answers to the name of Giton. One thousand sesterces reward will be paid to anyone bringing him back or giving information as to his whereabouts.” Ascyltos, dressed in a tunic of many colors, stood not far from the crier, holding out a…

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Excerpt #8, from Comic History of the United States, by Bill Nye

…almost wiped off the face of the earth. He had only two troops left at the close of the battle, and they could not keep up with Gates in the retreat. This battle and the retreat overheated Gates and sowed the seeds of heart-disease, from which he never recovered. He should have chosen a more peaceful life, such as the hen-traffic, or the growth of asparagus for the market. Benedict Arnold has been severely reproached in history, but he was a brave soldier, and possibly serving under Gates, who jealously kept him in the background, had a good deal to do with the little European dicker which so darkened his brilliant career as a soldier. [Illustration: ARNOLD’S RECEPTION IN ENGLAND.] Unhappy man! He was not well received in England, and, though a brilliant man, was forced to sit in a corner evening after evening and hear the English tell his humorous stories as their own. The Carolinas were full of Tories, and opposition to English rule was practically abandoned in the South for the time, with the exception of that made in a desultory swamp-warfare by the partisan bands with such leaders as Marion, Sumter, and Pickens. Two hundred thousand dollars of Continental money was the sum now out. Forty dollars of it would buy one dollar’s worth of groceries; but the grocer had to know the customer pretty well, and even then it was more…

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Excerpt #9, from The Story of King Arthur and his Knights, by Howard Pyle

…Now whiles they thus stood all together, there issued out from the castle the Lady Ettard and an exceedingly gay and comely Court of esquires and ladies, and these came across the meadow toward where Sir Pellias and the others stood. Then when Sir Pellias beheld that lady approach, he drew his misericordia and cut the thongs of his helmet, and took the helmet off of his head, and thus he went forward, bareheaded, for to meet her. [Sidenote: Sir Pellias greets the Lady Ettard in courteous wise.] But when he had come nigh to her he beheld that she was many times more beautiful than that image of her painted upon the ivory panel which he had aforetime beheld, wherefore his heart went forth unto her with a very great strength of liking. So therewith he kneeled down upon the grass and set his hands together palm to palm, before her, and he said: “Lady, I do very greatly crave thy forgiveness that I should thus have done battle against thy credit. For, excepting that I did that endeavor for my Queen, I would rather, in another case, have been thy champion than that of any lady whom I have ever beheld.” Now at that time Sir Pellias wore about his neck the collar of emeralds and opal stones and gold which the Lady of the Lake had given to him. Wherefore, when the Lady Ettard looked upon him, that necklace drew her heart unto him with very great enchantment. Wherefore she smiled upon…

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Excerpt #10, from The Problems of Philosophy, by Bertrand Russell

…Hence we are driven back to correspondence with fact as constituting the nature of truth. It remains to define precisely what we mean by ‘fact’, and what is the nature of the correspondence which must subsist between belief and fact, in order that belief may be true. In accordance with our three requisites, we have to seek a theory of truth which (1) allows truth to have an opposite, namely falsehood, (2) makes truth a property of beliefs, but (3) makes it a property wholly dependent upon the relation of the beliefs to outside things. The necessity of allowing for falsehood makes it impossible to regard belief as a relation of the mind to a single object, which could be said to be what is believed. If belief were so regarded, we should find that, like acquaintance, it would not admit of the opposition of truth and falsehood, but would have to be always true. This may be made clear by examples. Othello believes falsely that Desdemona loves Cassio. We cannot say that this belief consists in a relation to a single object, ‘Desdemona’s love for Cassio’, for if there were such an object, the belief would be true. There is in fact no such object, and therefore Othello cannot have any relation to such an object. Hence his belief cannot possibly consist in a relation to this object. It might be said that his belief is a relation to a different object, namely ‘that Desdemona loves Cassio’; but it is almost as difficult to…

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Excerpt #11, from Our Knowledge Box; or, Old Secrets and New Discoveries., by Unknown

…solution of glue, and mix it with one ounce of linseed-oil varnish, and half an ounce of pure turpentine; the whole are then boiled together in a close vessel. The two bodies should be clamped and held together for about two days after they are united, to allow the cement to become dry. The clamps may then be removed. Cement for Mending Broken China.–Stir plaster of Paris into a thick solution of gum arabic, till it becomes a viscous paste. Apply it with a brush to the fractured edges, and draw the parts closely together. Cement for Mending Steam Boilers.–Mix two parts of finely powdered litharge with one part of very fine sand, and one part of quicklime which has been allowed to slack spontaneously by exposure to the air. This mixture may be kept for any length of time without injury. In using it a portion is mixed into paste with linseed oil, or, still better, boiled linseed oil. In this state it must be quickly applied, as it soon becomes hard. Cheap White House Paint.–Take skim milk, two quarts, eight ounces fresh slaked lime, six ounces linseed oil; two ounces white Burgundy pitch, three pounds Spanish white. Slake the lime in water, expose it to the air, and mix in about one-quarter of the milk, the oil, in which the pitch is previously dissolved, to be added, a little at the time; then the rest of the milk, and afterwards the Spanish white. This quantity is…

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Excerpt #12, from Mr. Midshipman Easy, by Frederick Marryat

…The coxswain came to the door, touched his hat to the captain, and looked significantly. “And so, sir,” cried Captain Tartar, in a voice of thunder, rising from his chair, “you’re a damned runaway midshipman, who, if you belonged to my ship, instead of marrying Donna Agnes, I would marry you to the gunner’s daughter, by God! Two midshipmen sporting plain clothes in the best society in Palermo, and having the impudence to ask a post-captain to dine with them! To ask me, and address me as Tartar, and my dear fellow! you infernal young scamps!” continued Captain Tartar, now boiling with rage, and striking his fist on the table so as to set all the glasses waltzing. “Allow me to observe, sir,” said Jack, who was completely sobered by the address, “that we do not belong to your ship, and that we are in plain clothes.” “In plain clothes–midshipmen in mufti–yes, you are so: a couple of young swindlers, without a sixpence in your pocket, passing yourselves off as young men of fortune, and walking off through the window without paying your bill.” “Do you mean to call me a swindler, sir?” replied Jack. “Yes, sir, you–” “Then you lie,” exclaimed our hero, in a rage. "I am a gentleman, sir–…

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