Quick Excerpts, from a Library of 492 Titles

Generated 2022-07-28 13:26:11

Excerpt #1, from A Humorous History of England, by Charles Harrison

…Give Wolsey then a tender thought. His main ambition that the King Should be supreme in everything; Thomas And Thomas Cromwell followed suit Cromwell To make his master absolute Head of the Church within his realm. These two most able at the helm; But not with skill enough endued To ‘scape their King’s ingratitude. Despotical the King’s power grew. He’s England’s Pope by Act of Su- Premacy; as, to gain divorce, The foreign Pope is banned perforce. 1537 Now Bluff King Harry gives the Monks A series of most awful funks; Three thousand odd of their domains He ’collars’ for his Courtiers’ gains. Edward VI. Edward Six to the throne succeeds 1547-1553 A pious youth of goodly deeds; One, well known in the Capital, The Blue Coat School (Christ’s Hospital)….

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Excerpt #2, from With Lawrence in Arabia, by Lowell Thomas

…Convent, a most impressive gray façade, one hundred and fifty feet high, surmounted by a gigantic urn, and decorated with heads of Medusa. Most of the steps cut into the mountains lead to sacrificial altars, where the people used to worship on the high places thousands of years ago. An even greater staircase winds up to the Mount of Sacrifice, an isolated peak that dominates the whole basin. On the summit are two obelisks and two altars. One altar is hollowed out for making fires, and the other is round and provided with a blood-pool for the slaughter of the victim offered to Dhu-shara and Allat, the chief god and goddess of ancient Petra. One of my Bedouin companions insisted upon taking off his raiment and bathing in the rain-water which had collected in the pool. The average Bedouin needs a little encouragement along these lines, and so we did not reprimand him for his sacrilegious act. Lawrence told me that it was supposed to be the most complete and perfect example in existence of an ancient Semitic high place. Near the altars are the two great monoliths, each about twenty-four feet high, which the people of Petra carved out of the solid rock and used in their phallic worship, one of the oldest forms of worship known to man. The names of these monoliths and the nature of the worship do not admit of description. The mountain-top commands a…

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Excerpt #3, from The Boy’s Book of the Sea, by Eric Wood

…arrived near the bar. The Spaniards, sighting the strange vessels, were taking no risks, and opened fire immediately, pounding away at the pirates as they put out their boats and manned them, ready to sweep in and land. Of course, Morgan’s ships gave the Spaniards as much as they received, and during the day a fine little fight was kept up. Then night came again; and Morgan, meaning to take advantage of it, swooped in, to find that the Spaniards in the fort had bolted precipitately when night fell. They had taken the precaution, however, of setting a fuse train to a barrel of gunpowder, sufficient to hurl the fort and the buccaneers into the Great Unknown. Fortunately, Morgan’s men, scouring about for such a likely thing, hit upon it in about a quarter of an hour, and soon destroyed the fuse. That done, the fort was ransacked and demolished. Next day, free from hindrance of the fort, the eight pirate ships passed into the harbour, and went on to Maracaibo. The water, however, being too shallow to allow of the ships passing up, the buccaneers took to small boats and canoes, and in this way made their way to the town. Landing, they immediately rushed Fort De la Barra, only to find that it was deserted; the Spaniards here had fled like their comrades farther down, as also had the people in the town, with the exception of a few…

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Excerpt #4, from Macbeth, by William Shakespeare

…When shalt thou see thy wholesome days again, Since that the truest issue of thy throne By his own interdiction stands accus’d, And does blaspheme his breed? Thy royal father Was a most sainted king. The queen that bore thee, Oft’ner upon her knees than on her feet, Died every day she lived. Fare thee well! These evils thou repeat’st upon thyself Have banish’d me from Scotland.—O my breast, Thy hope ends here! MALCOLM. Macduff, this noble passion, Child of integrity, hath from my soul Wiped the black scruples, reconcil’d my thoughts To thy good truth and honour. Devilish Macbeth By many of these trains hath sought to win me Into his power, and modest wisdom plucks me From over-credulous haste: but God above Deal between thee and me! for even now I put myself to thy direction, and Unspeak mine own detraction; here abjure…

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Excerpt #5, from The Myths and Fables of To Day, by Samuel Adams Drake

…Highway,” that is to say, the lawfully laid out public road, she thereby cleared herself from any old indebtedness. As amazing as it may seem, several such cases are recorded in New England, the formalities observed differing somewhat in different localities. It is considered unlucky to get married before breakfast. “If you marry in Lent, You will live to repent.” May is considered an unlucky month to be married in. “Marry in May, And you’ll rue the day.” To remove an engagement or wedding ring from the finger is also a bad omen.[17] To lose either of them, or to have them broken on the finger, also denotes misfortune. It is extremely unlucky for either the bride or groom to meet a funeral when on their way to be married. It is an unlucky omen for the church clock to strike during the performance of a marriage ceremony, as it is said to portend the death of one of the contracting parties before the year is out. [Illustration] IX OF EVIL OMENS…

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Excerpt #6, from The Principles of Biology, Volume 1 (of 2), by Herbert Spencer

…in finding one that is neither more nor less than sufficient. Let us look at a few of the most tenable definitions that have been given. While recognizing the respects in which they are defective, we shall see what requirements a more satisfactory one must fulfil. Schelling said that Life is the tendency to individuation. This formula, until studied, conveys little meaning. But we need only consider it as illustrated by the facts of development, or by the contrast between lower and higher forms of life, to recognize its significance; especially in respect of comprehensiveness. As before shown, however (First Principles, § 56), it is objectionable; partly on the ground that it refers not so much to the functional changes constituting Life, as to the structural changes of those aggregates of matter which manifest Life; and partly on the ground that it includes under the idea Life, much that we usually exclude from it: for instance–crystallization. The definition of Richerand,–“Life is a collection of phenomena which succeed each other during a limited time in an organized body,”–is liable to the fatal criticism, that it equally applies to the decay which goes on after death. For this, too, is “a collection of phenomena which succeed each other during a limited time in an organized body.” “Life,” according to De Blainville, “is the two-fold internal movement of composition and decomposition, at once general and continuous.” This…

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Excerpt #7, from Primitive & Mediaeval Japanese Texts, by F. Victor Dickins

…taniguku no sa-wataru kihami kikoshiwosu kuni no mahora so 35 kani kaku ni hoshiki ma ni ma ni shika ni ha arazhi ka. Hisakatano 1 ama-ji ha tohoshi naho naho ni ihe ni kaherite nari wo shimasani. 5 5 Supply koto, must not be avoided or shirked. 6, 8, 9, 10 The relations indicated are meant. 15 A sort of proverb. 19 i.e. trampling on the ethical rules (of Confucianism). 22, 23 are heptasyllabic, they conclude the first part of the lay. 23 nanji ga na wo na-norasane. 25 na = nanji. 35 mahora, kuni no is an emphatic expression for kuni, land; mahora seems to mean mountain-secluded, central, or recessed portion…

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Excerpt #8, from The Influence of the Stars: A book of old world lore, by Rosa Baughan

…fail, on the upper part of the head; if the middle part of the sign ascends the mark is in the middle of the face; if the latter part of the sign is ascending the mark is near the chin. This house represents the head, the tongue and the memory, and it governs in colours white. The Second House.–This house has signification of the native’s wealth and worldly goods. The house is feminine, ruling the neck, and the colour is green. The Third House.–This governs brothers and sisters, short journeys, neighbours, letters and writings. It is masculine and governs the hands, arms and shoulders; its colours are red and yellow mixed. The Fourth House.–This rules the father, inheritances or property of the native, and shows his condition at the close of life. It is feminine, and rules the stomach, breast and lungs; its colour is red. The Fifth House.–This signifies the children of the native, also his success in speculation and hazardous games, the pleasures he enjoys and the wealth of the father. It rules the heart, back and liver, is masculine, and represents in colour black and white mixed. The Sixth House.–This concerns the native’s servants, sheep, goats and small cattle. It also signifies the father’s kindred. This house is feminine. It rules the belly and intestines and its colour is black. The Seventh House gives judgment of marriage and describes the man or…

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Excerpt #9, from The Grand Inquisitor, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

…century. It was just at that time that a new and terrible heresy first made its appearance in the north of Germany.* [*Luther’s reform] A great star ‘shining as it were a lamp… fell upon the fountains waters’… and ‘they were made bitter.’ This ‘heresy’ blasphemously denied ‘miracles.’ But those who had remained faithful believed all the more ardently, the tears of mankind ascended to Him as heretofore, and the Christian world was expecting Him as confidently as ever; they loved Him and hoped in Him, thirsted and hungered to suffer and die for Him just as many of them had done before…. So many centuries had weak, trusting humanity implored Him, crying with ardent faith and fervour: ‘How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not come!’ So many long centuries hath it vainly appealed to Him, that at last, in His inexhaustible compassion, He consenteth to answer the prayer…. He decideth that once more, if it were but for one short hour, the people–His long-suffering, tortured, fatally sinful, his loving and child-like, trusting people–shall behold Him again. The scene of action is placed by me in Spain, at Seville, during that terrible period of the Inquisition, when, for the greater glory of God, stakes were flaming all over the country. Burning wicked heretics,…

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Excerpt #10, from Letters of a Radio

…than it needs for every zinc ion which has left it. If only the extra electrons on the negative zinc plate could get around to the positive copper plate. They can if we connect a wire from one plate to the other. Then the electrons from the zinc stream into the spaces between the atoms of the wire and push ahead of them the electrons which are wandering around in these spaces. At the other end an equal number of electrons leave the wire to satisfy the positive copper plate. So we have a stream of electrons in the wire, that is, a current of electricity and our battery is working. That’s the sort of a battery I used to play with. If you understand it you can get the general idea of all batteries. Let me express it in general terms. At the negative plate of a battery ions go into solution and electrons are left behind. At the other end of the battery positive ions are crowded out of solution and join the plate where they cause a scarcity of electrons; that is, make the plate positive. If a wire is connected between the two plates, electrons will stream through it from the negative plate to the positive; and this stream is a current of electricity. [Illustration: Pl. III.–Dry Battery for Use in Audion Circuits (Courtesy of National Carbon Co., Inc.). Storage Battery (Courtesy of…

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Excerpt #11, from The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, by Christopher Marlowe

…Thou talk’st of Christ, contrary to thy promise: Thou shouldst not think of God: think of the devil, And of his dam too. FAUSTUS. Nor will I henceforth: pardon me in this, And Faustus vows never to look to heaven, Never to name God, or to pray to him, To burn his Scriptures, slay his ministers, And make my spirits pull his churches down. LUCIFER. Do so, and we will highly gratify thee. Faustus, we are come from hell to shew thee some pastime: sit down, and thou shalt see all the Seven Deadly Sins appear in their proper shapes. FAUSTUS. That sight will be as pleasing unto me, As Paradise was to Adam, the first day Of his creation. LUCIFER. Talk not of Paradise nor creation; but mark this show: talk of the devil, and nothing else.–Come away! Enter the SEVEN DEADLY SINS.[105] Now, Faustus, examine them of their several names and dispositions. FAUSTUS. What art thou, the first? PRIDE. I am Pride. I disdain to have any parents. I am like to Ovid’s flea; I can creep into every corner of a wench; sometimes,…

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Excerpt #12, from Legends of the Gods, by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge

…(?)].[FN#230] I went away to the city of Am, [where] the people gave thanks [for me] through [their] fear of my making trouble [for them]. I passed the day in seeking to provide food for the child, [and] on returning to take Horus into my arms I found him, Horus, the beautiful one of gold, the boy, the child, without [life]. He had bedewed the ground with the water of his eye, and with foam from his lips. His body was motionless, his heart was powerless to move, and the sinews (or, muscles) of his members were [helpless]. I sent forth a cry, [saying]: [FN#229] Or, Ateh, the papyrus swamp. [FN#230] i.e., Set. "’I, even I, lack a son to make answer [for me].[FN#231] [My] two breasts are full to overflowing, [but] my body is empty. [My] mouth wished for that which concerned him.[FN#232] A cistern of water and a stream of the inundation was I. The child was the desire of my heart, and I longed to protect him (?). I carried him in my womb, I gave birth to him, I endured the agony of the birth pangs, I was all alone, and the great ones were afraid of disaster and to come out at the sound of my voice. My father is in the Tuat,[FN#233] my mother is in Aqert,[FN#234] and my elder brother is in the sarcophagus. Think of the enemy and of how prolonged was the wrath of his heart against me,…

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