"Commonness" Quotes from Famous Books
... the Nottingham lace curtains, the olive-and-crimson furniture, the pictures in cheap gilt frames, the heavily gilded wall-paper, and the throws of thin silk over the picture corners must prove to him the standing of her family. She felt an ignoble satisfaction in it, for a certain measure of commonness clung to the girl like a cobweb. She was as yet too young to bloom free of her environment, her head was not yet over the barrier of her daily lot; her heart never would be, and that was her glory. Young Lloyd handed her the roll of valedictory ... — The Portion of Labor • Mary E. Wilkins Freeman
... "the sea relieves everything about or near it, from the humiliation of commonness. The stamp of distinction rests on its printless waves. It was the first surface of the earth, and its primal regency has never been lost or forfeited;" a suspicion crossed my mind: "How was it your father spoke of Devonshire. ... — The Certainty of a Future Life in Mars • L. P. Gratacap
... dragged her out of her capable and mechanical indifference. It was a pity. Her consistent dullness had had a sort of dignity; but genial, she was merely ridiculous. Animation cruelly displayed her appalling commonness and physical shabbiness. Sophia's demeanour was not chilly; but it indicated that Sophia had no wish to be eyed over as ... — The Old Wives' Tale • Arnold Bennett
... lameness had been a sort of bridge for Peter, a high airy structure which engaged the best of him and so carried him safely over Blodgett's without once letting him fall into the unlovely vein of life there, its narrowness, its commonness. He had known, even when he had known it most inaccessible, that there was another life which answered to every instinct of his for beauty and fitness. He waited only for the release from strain for his entry with it. Now by the shock ... — The Lovely Lady • Mary Austin
... will be noticed that the remedies we recommend are in almost every case very cheap—even, like hot water, costing nothing, as they are in every house. This very simplicity and commonness has turned many against our treatment. We know, indeed, of one curious case where olive oil was derided and despised by a rheumatic patient, until his friends got it labelled "Poison, for external use only." It was then eagerly applied, and effected ... — Papers on Health • John Kirk
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