Quick Excerpts, from a Library of 492 Titles

Generated 2022-07-28 13:26:03

Excerpt #1, from Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen

…few days, was probably as great an object of her curiosity as all the celebrated beauties of Matlock, Chatsworth, Dovedale, or the Peak. Elizabeth was excessively disappointed; she had set her heart on seeing the Lakes, and still thought there might have been time enough. But it was her business to be satisfied—and certainly her temper to be happy; and all was soon right again. With the mention of Derbyshire there were many ideas connected. It was impossible for her to see the word without thinking of Pemberley and its owner. “But surely,” said she, “I may enter his county with impunity, and rob it of a few petrified spars without his perceiving me.” The period of expectation was now doubled. Four weeks were to pass away before her uncle and aunt’s arrival. But they did pass away, and Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner, with their four children, did at length appear at Longbourn. The children, two girls of six and eight years old, and two younger boys, were to be left under the particular care of their cousin Jane, who was the general favourite, and whose steady sense and sweetness of temper exactly adapted her for attending to them in every way—teaching them, playing with them, and loving them….

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Excerpt #2, from The Poetics of Aristotle, by Aristotle

…irrational parts. Everything irrational should, if possible, be excluded; or, at all events, it should lie outside the action of the play (as, in the Oedipus, the hero’s ignorance as to the manner of Laius’ death); not within the drama,–as in the Electra, the messenger’s account of the Pythian games; or, as in the Mysians, the man who has come from Tegea to Mysia and is still speechless. The plea that otherwise the plot would have been ruined, is ridiculous; such a plot should not in the first instance be constructed. But once the irrational has been introduced and an air of likelihood imparted to it, we must accept it in spite of the absurdity. Take even the irrational incidents in the Odyssey, where Odysseus is left upon the shore of Ithaca. How intolerable even these might have been would be apparent if an inferior poet were to treat the subject. As it is, the absurdity is veiled by the poetic charm with which the poet invests it. The diction should be elaborated in the pauses of the action, where there is no expression of character or thought. For, conversely, character and thought are merely obscured by a diction that is over brilliant. XXV With respect to critical difficulties and their solutions, the number and nature of the sources from which they may be drawn may be thus…

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Excerpt #3, from A history of Canada, 1763 to 1812, by Sir Charles Prestwood Lucas

…at a time, and only by ordinance of the Legislative Council; to give trial by jury in civil cases at the option of either of the parties; to take from the governor the power of committing to prison by his own warrant, and of suspending judges and members of the Legislative Council; while the last clause increased the numbers of the council. It was supported by Fox, who took the opportunity to denounce the Quebec Act ‘as a Bill founded upon a system of despotism’, and by Sheridan; but the majority in a very thin House rejected it, agreeing with Pitt that, in view of the contradictory petitions which came from Canada, it would be well to wait until Carleton went out and reported upon the feeling of the country. Petitions continued to come in. In June, 1787, Lord Dorchester wrote to Lord Sydney that with the increase of the English population the desire for an Assembly would increase, but that he himself was at a loss for a plan, and that a more pressing matter was a change in the tenure of land. In the following September Lord Sydney replied, in somewhat similar terms, that there was no present intention to alter the constitution, but that the King would be advised to make a change in the system of land tenure. [Sidenote: Adam Lymburner heard before the House of Commons.]…

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Excerpt #4, from The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde

…possibly let you stand in front of that picture.” “You will some day, surely?” “Never.” “Well, perhaps you are right. And now good-bye, Dorian. You have been the one person in my life who has really influenced my art. Whatever I have done that is good, I owe to you. Ah! you don’t know what it cost me to tell you all that I have told you.” “My dear Basil,” said Dorian, “what have you told me? Simply that you felt that you admired me too much. That is not even a compliment.” “It was not intended as a compliment. It was a confession. Now that I have made it, something seems to have gone out of me. Perhaps one should never put one’s worship into words.” “It was a very disappointing confession.” “Why, what did you expect, Dorian? You didn’t see anything else in the picture, did you? There was nothing else to see?” “No; there was nothing else to see. Why do you ask? But you mustn’t talk about worship. It is foolish. You and I are friends, Basil, and we must always remain so.” “You have got Harry,” said the painter sadly. “Oh, Harry!” cried the lad, with a ripple of laughter. “Harry spends his days in saying what is incredible and his evenings in doing what is…

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Excerpt #5, from Arms and the Man, by Bernard Shaw

…CATHERINE. Louka! LOUKA. (stopping). Yes, madam. …CATHERINE. Is the library door shut? LOUKA. I think so, madam. …CATHERINE. If not, shut it as you pass through. LOUKA. Yes, madam. (Going.) …CATHERINE. Stop! (Louka stops.) He will have to go out that way (indicating the gate of the stable yard). Tell Nicola to bring his bag here after him. Don’t forget. LOUKA. (surprised). His bag? …CATHERINE. Yes, here, as soon as possible. (Vehemently.) Be quick! (_Louka runs into the house. Catherine snatches her apron off and throws it behind a…

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Excerpt #6, from The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, by Christopher Marlowe

…And bring glad tidings from great Lucifer;– Is’t not midnight?–come, Mephistophilis, Veni, veni, Mephistophile! Enter MEPHISTOPHILIS. Now tell me[77] what says Lucifer, thy lord? MEPHIST. That I shall wait on Faustus whilst he lives,[78] So he will buy my service with his soul. FAUSTUS. Already Faustus hath hazarded that for thee. MEPHIST. But, Faustus, thou must bequeath it solemnly, And write a deed of gift with thine own blood; For that security craves great Lucifer. If thou deny it, I will back to hell. FAUSTUS. Stay, Mephistophilis, and tell me, what good will my soul do thy lord? MEPHIST. Enlarge his kingdom. FAUSTUS. Is that the reason why[79] he tempts us thus? MEPHIST. Solamen miseris socios habuisse doloris.[80] FAUSTUS. Why,[81] have you any pain that torture[82] others! MEPHIST. As great as have the human souls of men. But, tell me, Faustus, shall I have thy soul? And I will be thy slave, and wait on thee,…

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Excerpt #7, from Beowulf: An Anglo

…The good one then uttered words of defiance, 15 Beowulf Geatman, ere his bed he upmounted: {Beowulf boasts of his ability to cope with Grendel.} “I hold me no meaner in matters of prowess, In warlike achievements, than Grendel does himself; Hence I seek not with sword-edge to sooth him to slumber, Of life to bereave him, though well I am able. {We will fight with nature’s weapons only.} 20 No battle-skill[1] has he, that blows he should strike me, To shatter my shield, though sure he is mighty [25] In strife and destruction; but struggling by night we Shall do without edges, dare he to look for Weaponless warfare, and wise-mooded Father 25 The glory apportion, God ever-holy, {God may decide who shall conquer} On which hand soever to him seemeth proper.” Then the brave-mooded hero bent to his slumber, The pillow received the cheek of the noble; {The Geatish warriors lie down.} And many a martial mere-thane attending 30 Sank to his slumber. Seemed it unlikely…

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Excerpt #8, from The Tempest, by William Shakespeare

…11: do] om. Pope. 13: gift] Rowe. guest Ff. 14: but] F1. om. F2 F3 F4. 25: ’tis] is Capell. 30: Phœbus’] Phœbus F1. Phœdus F2 F3. Phœduus F4. 34: SCENE II. Pope. 41: vanity] rarity S. Walker conj. 48: no?] no. Rowe. 53: abstemious] abstenious F1. 60: SCENE III. A MASQUE. Pope.] thy] F1. the F2 F3 F4. 64: pioned] pionied Warburton. peonied Steevens. twilled] tulip’d Rowe. tilled Capell (Holt conj.). lilied Steevens.] 66: broom-groves] brown groves Hanmer. 68: pole-clipt] pale-clipt Hanmer. 72: After this line Ff. have the stage direction, ’Juno descends.’ 74: her] Rowe. here Ff. 83: short-grass’d] F3 F4. short gras’d F1 F2. short-grass Pope. 96: bed-right] bed-rite Singer. 101: High’st] High Pope….

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Excerpt #9, from The Sea

…galloping of his thoughts. The memory of that oath he had sworn three months ago to Rosamund smote him like a physical blow. It checked his purpose, and, reflecting this, his pace fell to an amble. He shivered to think how near he had gone to wrecking all the happiness that lay ahead of him. What was a boy’s whiplash, that his resentment of it; should set all his future life in jeopardy? Even though men should call him a coward for submitting to it and leaving the insult unavenged, what should that matter? Moreover, upon the body of him who did so proclaim him he could brand the lie of a charge so foolish. Sir Oliver raised his eyes to the deep sapphire dome of heaven where an odd star was glittering frostily, and thanked God from a swelling heart that he had not overtaken Peter Godolphin whilst his madness was upon him. A mile or so below Penryn, he turned up the road that ran down to the ferry there, and took his way home over the shoulder of the hill with a slack rein. It was not his usual way. He was wont ever to go round by Trefusis Point that he might take a glimpse at the walls of the house that harboured Rosamund and a glance at the window of her bower. But to-night he thought the shorter road over the hill would be the safer way. If he went by Godolphin Court he might chance to meet Peter again, and his past anger warned him against courting such a meeting, warned him to avoid it lest evil should betide. Indeed, so imperious was the…

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Excerpt #10, from The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, by Daniel Defoe

…to sea as much as I could, resolving to speak with them if possible. With all the sail I could make, I found I should not be able to come in their way, but that they would be gone by before I could make any signal to them: but after I had crowded to the utmost, and began to despair, they, it seems, saw by the help of their glasses that it was some European boat, which they supposed must belong to some ship that was lost; so they shortened sail to let me come up. I was encouraged with this, and as I had my patron’s ancient on board, I made a waft of it to them, for a signal of distress, and fired a gun, both which they saw; for they told me they saw the smoke, though they did not hear the gun. Upon these signals they very kindly brought to, and lay by for me; and in about three hours; time I came up with them. They asked me what I was, in Portuguese, and in Spanish, and in French, but I understood none of them; but at last a Scotch sailor, who was on board, called to me: and I answered him, and told him I was an Englishman, that I had made my escape out of slavery from the Moors, at Sallee; they then bade me come on board, and very kindly took me in, and all my goods. It was an inexpressible joy to me, which any one will believe, that I was thus delivered, as I esteemed it, from such a miserable and almost hopeless condition as I was in; and I immediately offered all I had to…

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Excerpt #11, from Vikram and the Vampire: Classic Hindu Tales of Adventure, Magic, and Romance

…and exclaimed, “O produce of Brahma’s head,[147] I will do what your highness has desired of me.” Upon which the Brahman, after delivering a benediction of adieu almost as beautiful and spirit-stirring as that with which he had presented himself, took the betel[148] and went his ways. Then the Raja sent for his daughter Chandraprabha and said to her, “This is the affianced bride of a young Brahman, and she has been trusted to my protection for a time by her father-in-law. Take her therefore into the inner rooms, treat her with the utmost regard, and never allow her to be separated from thee, day or night, asleep or awake, eating or drinking, at home or abroad.” Chandraprabha took the hand of Sita–as Manaswi had pleased to call himself–and led the way to her own apartment. Once the seat of joy and pleasure, the rooms now wore a desolate and melancholy look. The windows were darkened, the attendants moved noiselessly over the carpets, as if their footsteps would cause headache, and there was a faint scent of some drug much used in cases of deliquium. The apartments were handsome, but the only ornament in the room where they sat was a large bunch of withered flowers in an arched recess, and these, though possibly interesting to some one, were not likely to find favour as a decoration in the eyes of everybody….

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Excerpt #12, from The Story of King Arthur and his Knights, by Howard Pyle

…Accalon of Gaul and I am knight in good worship of King Arthur’s Court.” But when King Arthur heard this he made great outcry and he said, “How is this? Know you who I am?” And Sir Accalon said, “Nay, I know you not.” Then King Arthur said, “I am King Arthur who am thy master.” And upon this he took off his helmet and Sir Accalon knew him. And when Sir Accalon beheld King Arthur he swooned away and lay like one dead upon the ground, and King Arthur said, “Take him hence.” Then when those who were there were aware who King Arthur was, they burst over the barriers and ran toward him with great outcry of pity. And King Arthur would have left this place but upon that he also swooned away because of the great issue of blood that had come from him, wherefore all those who were round about took great sorrow, thinking that he was dying, wherefore they bewailed themselves without stint. Then came Vivien out into that field and she said, “Let me have him, for I believe that I shall be able to cure his hurts.” So she commanded that two litters should be brought and she placed King Arthur in one of the litters and she placed Sir Accalon in the other, and she bore them both away to a priory of nuns that was at no great distance from that place. [Sidenote: Vivien healeth King Arthur.] So when Vivien had come there she searched the wounds of King Arthur and bathed them with a very precious balsam, so that they immediately began…

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