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Sever   Listen
verb
Sever  v. i.  
1.
To suffer disjunction; to be parted, or rent asunder; to be separated; to part; to separate.
2.
To make a separation or distinction; to distinguish. "The Lord shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt." "They claimed the right of severing in their challenge."






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Sever" Quotes from Famous Books



... before we sever, Fill we one brimming cup,—it is the last! And let those lips, now parting, and for ever, Breathe o'er this pledge, "the ...
— Poems • Frances Anne Butler

... experienced, it may be remedied by separating the brass ring from the iron at three or four points of the circumference. This should be done with a cold chisel, very slightly, and so as not to interfere with the loading. It is only necessary to sever the contact of ...
— Ordnance Instructions for the United States Navy. - 1866. Fourth edition. • Bureau of Ordnance, USN

... and swept from the room, a spot of colour burning in her cheeks, her eyes lit with fire. The pride of her race had asserted itself. She felt no longer any fear. She only desired to sever herself at once and completely from all association with this man. In the hall she ...
— The Yellow Crayon • E. Phillips Oppenheim

... my youth be guilty of such blame? No more can I be sever'd from your side, Than can yourself yourself in twain divide: Stay, go, do what you will, the like do I; For live I will not, ...
— King Henry VI, First Part • William Shakespeare [Aldus edition]

... supposed you were making some move, and thought this might be it. I am glad that you do so so heartily, and more glad that I can say so. After all, the defiance offered us by the varied positions of our friends is what life needs. Each dissimilar act of my friend, while it does not sever him from me, throws me more sternly upon myself. Can we not make our friendship so fine that it shall be only a sympathy of thought, and let the expression differ, and court it to differ? This ray of the sunlight falls upon summer woods, that sinks ...
— Early Letters of George Wm. Curtis • G. W. Curtis, ed. George Willis Cooke

... a letter from Mrs. Sewall. My services would not be needed any longer. Enclosed was a check which paid me up to the day of my departure. In view of the circumstances, it would be wiser to sever our connections immediately. Owing to the unexpected return of her son, they were both starting within a few days for the Pacific coast. Therefore, she would suggest that I return immediately by express all papers ...
— The Fifth Wheel - A Novel • Olive Higgins Prouty

... when they had reached the garden, "this, after all, is only a false alarm, or even if it be not, we know that the government could by no means afford to abandon the established church in Ireland, because that would be, in other words, to reject the aid of, and sever themselves from all connection with, the whole Protestant party; and you, as a man of sense, Purcel, need not be told that it is only by the existence of a Protestant party in this country that they are enabled to hold it in ...
— The Tithe-Proctor - The Works of William Carleton, Volume Two • William Carleton

... happiness I sought, - not peace of mind at least; for assuredly my thirst for knowledge, for truth, brought me anything but peace. I never was more restless, or, at times, more unhappy. Shallow, indeed, must be the soul that can lightly sever itself from beliefs which lie at the roots of our moral, intellectual, and emotional being, sanctified too by associations of our earliest love and reverence. I used to wander about the fields, and sit ...
— Tracks of a Rolling Stone • Henry J. Coke

... conclusion that there is but one course it can pursue. Unless the Imperial Government should now immediately declare and effect an abandonment of its present methods of submarine warfare against passenger and freight carrying vessels, the Government of the United States can have no choice but to sever diplomatic relations with the German Government altogether. This action the Government of the United States contemplates with the greatest reluctance but feels constrained to take in behalf of humanity and the rights ...
— Germany, The Next Republic? • Carl W. Ackerman

... of what sometimes occurred, we may take the case of Master Henry Sever, Warden of Merton Hall. He had carried out certain repairs of the buildings, and, in order to discharge the bill, had borrowed from Seltone chest the maximum amount permitted by the ordinance—sixty shillings. ...
— The Customs of Old England • F. J. Snell

... of my life," he said, "came together. I was engaged to be married to the Duchess of Lenchester at the same time that I found myself forced to sever my connexion with the Liberal party. You know, of course, that the Duchess has always been a great figure in politics. She has ambitions, and her political creed is almost a part of the religion of her life. She looked upon my apostasy with horror. It came between us at the very moment ...
— A Lost Leader • E. Phillips Oppenheim

... Africa from Asia, it was no doubt feasible to blast a canal through the hills of the Isthmus of Panama, 300 feet high. It has cost many years and many millions, but the great cutting will soon be ready which will sever South America from the northern half of the New World. It is surely a splendid undertaking to make it possible for a vessel to sail from Liverpool direct to San Francisco without rounding the whole of South America, and at a single ...
— From Pole to Pole - A Book for Young People • Sven Anders Hedin

... far ahead of her by 1870, and perhaps have stripped her of all her American possessions. When those troubles began, she proceeded to take the same advantage of them that she had taken of the Czar's blunder. To sever the American nation in twain is her object, as some of her public men have frankly avowed; and she believes that the disintegrating process, once commenced, would not stop with the division of the country ...
— Continental Monthly, Vol. I., No. IV., April, 1862 - Devoted To Literature And National Policy • Various

... was nearly through, and, reaching up as high as he could to divide a pale green strand which had grown almost in darkness, and now hindered his way, he put all his strength out to sever it with one cut, not anticipating that wood which had grown under such conditions would be tender and soft, and, consequently, his knife went through it as easily as if it had been a thick stick of rhubarb, and he fell forward into the ...
— Old Gold - The Cruise of the "Jason" Brig • George Manville Fenn

... myself—O, hear me out - Suppose he was to ferret out your name, What then? What then? He cannot seize the maid, Unless she still belong to none but you. 'Tis from your house alone that he could drag her Into a convent; therefore grant her me - Grant her to me, and let him come. By God - Sever my wife from me—he'll not be rash Enough to think about it. Give her to me, Be she or no thy daughter, Christian, Jewess, Or neither, 'tis all one, all one—I'll never In my whole life ask of thee which she is, Be't as ...
— Nathan the Wise • Gotthold Ephraim Lessing

... these prove themselves to be the godly? Oddly! But they in life are known to be the holy, O lie! Who are these preachers, men or women-common? Common! Come they from any universitie? Citie! Do they not learning from their doctrine sever? Ever! Yet they pretend that they do edifie: O fie! What do you call it then, to fructify? Ay. What church have they, and what pulpits? Pitts! But now in chambers the Conventicle; Tickle! The godly sisters shrewdly are belied. Bellied! The godly number then will ...
— Curiosities of Literature, Vol. II (of 3) - Edited, With Memoir And Notes, By His Son, The Earl Of Beaconsfield • Isaac D'Israeli

... making serious charges, young man," Dr. Rannage severely replied. His curate's words had hit him hard, and he winced, for he knew how true they were. "If that is the feeling you entertain for innocent amusements, it is just as well you should sever your connection with this parish. When ...
— The Unknown Wrestler • H. A. (Hiram Alfred) Cody

... Mansur[FN246] and say to him: 'Thou owest us a thousand thousand dirhams and we require of thee immediate payment of this amount.' And I command thee, O Salih, unless he pay it between this hour and sundown, sever his head from his body and bring it to me." "To hear is to obey," answered Salih and, going to Mansur, acquainted him with what the Caliph had said, whereupon quoth he, "I am a lost man, by Allah; for all my estate and all my hand owneth, if sold for their utmost value, would not fetch ...
— The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 4 • Richard F. Burton

... life to see himself there without the other. The life that they both anticipated was that life on the ocean wave, of which home-keeping poets sing so eloquently; and it had always been vaguely taken for granted that no great difference in rank or success could sever them. Fitz was too simple-minded, too honest to himself, to look for great honours in his country's service. He mistrusted himself. Luke ...
— The Grey Lady • Henry Seton Merriman

... problem of the unemployed male is, of course, not nearly so modern as that of the unemployed female. It may be said in England to have taken its rise in almost its present form as early as the fifteenth century, when economic changes began to sever the agricultural labourer from the land, and rob him of his ancient forms of social toil. Still, in its most acute form, it may be called a ...
— Woman and Labour • Olive Schreiner

... American "best sellers." I suppose that he reacted too far. I feel sure of it when he is so unobvious that I cannot understand him. And yet every American writer must feel a little proud that there was one of our race who could make the great refusal of popularity, sever, with those intricate pen strokes of his, the bonds of interest that might have held the "general reader," and write just as well as he ...
— Definitions • Henry Seidel Canby

... wished they had been two inches. The creepers are a great advantage in the matter of speed, but they need long points. They are not so safe as step-cutting, and there is the ever-present danger that unless one is exceedingly careful one will step upon the rope with them and their sharp calks sever some of the strands. They were, however, of great assistance and saved a deal ...
— The Ascent of Denali (Mount McKinley) - A Narrative of the First Complete Ascent of the Highest - Peak in North America • Hudson Stuck

... what strenuous gleaners may, In the throng'd fields where winning comes by strife; And though the just sun gild, as mortals pray, Some reaches of thy storm-vext stream of life; Though that blank sunshine blind thee; though the cloud That sever'd the world's march and thine, be gone; Though ease dulls grace, and Wisdom be too proud To halve a lodging that was ...
— Poetical Works of Matthew Arnold • Matthew Arnold

... of philanthropy and Christian charity. And what we must remember is that our philanthropy needs our theology to sustain it. They only will continue Christ's work for man who cherish Christ's thoughts about man. Sever philanthropy from the great Christian ideas which have created and sustained it, and it will very speedily come to an end of its resources. All experience shows that philanthropy cut off from Christ has not capital enough on which to do its business. And the reason ...
— The Teaching of Jesus • George Jackson

... bind a wound on the finger of a workman who had met with a slight accident, as I turned to take up my scissors, the head carpenter, without a trace of humour on his face, stepped forward with a four-foot long adze, and offered to sever the calico. ...
— The Fulfilment of a Dream of Pastor Hsi's - The Story of the Work in Hwochow • A. Mildred Cable

... engagement was not less unwelcome to Mrs. Lyndsay than to himself, and that she was disposed to connive at any means by which it might be annulled. Matilda was first employed to weaken the bond it was so desirable to sever. Matilda did not reproach, but she wept. She was sure now that she should he an outcast—her children beggars. Mrs. Lyndsay worked up this complaint with adroitest skill. Was Caroline sure that it was not most dishonourable—most treacherous—to ...
— What Will He Do With It, Complete • Edward Bulwer-Lytton

... and cares; The earth was still—but knew not why, The world was listening, unawares. How calm a moment may precede One that shall thrill the world forever! To that still moment, none would heed, Man's doom was linked no more to sever— In the solemn ...
— A Handbook for Latin Clubs • Various

... the Twenty-Seventh, accustomed to forest warfare, this corps made the most violent efforts from the end of September, 1914, to throw the French troops back to the south and seize the road to Verdun. The crown prince evidently meant to sever this route and the adjoining highway, leading from Verdun to Ste. Menehould. The road then turns to the south and joins at Revigny, the main line of Bar-le-Duc to Paris via Chalons, forming, in fact, the only possible line of communication for ...
— The Story of the Great War, Volume V (of 12) - Neuve Chapelle, Battle of Ypres, Przemysl, Mazurian Lakes • Francis J. Reynolds, Allen L. Churchill, and Francis Trevelyan

... been, and must be, avoided. History has falsified the impression prevalent in the middle of the nineteenth century that the colonies would sooner or later follow the example of the United States, and sever their connexion with the mother-country. It has no less clearly demonstrated the impossibility of maintaining a centralized government of the empire in Downing Street. The union or federation of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa has strengthened ...
— The History of England - A Study in Political Evolution • A. F. Pollard

... arrogance of the whole Empire."[488] "Canada has almost claimed that it is a right of self-governing States to be allowed to make treaties for themselves. When that happens, the colonies might as well sever themselves from the mother country altogether. For under present circumstances the authority which makes treaties is the authority which ultimately controls armies. To give any of our colonies the power to embroil us in war, or to determine our relations with European Powers, is to give the ...
— British Socialism - An Examination of Its Doctrines, Policy, Aims and Practical Proposals • J. Ellis Barker

... Romaine," said I, "I have had so much benefit of your advice and services that I am loth to sever the connection, and would even ask a substitute. I would be obliged for a letter of introduction to one of your own cloth in Edinburgh—an old man for choice, very experienced, very respectable, and very secret. Could you favour me ...
— The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 20 (of 25) • Robert Louis Stevenson

... remaining for several years under the Hudson's Bay Company, at last in 1674 felt obliged to sever the connection, and went over again to France. Radisson told his nephew in 1684 that the cause was "the refusal, that showed the bad intention of the Hudson's Bay Company to satisfy us." Several influential members of the committee of ...
— Voyages of Peter Esprit Radisson • Peter Esprit Radisson

... the hands must sever On either margin, our songs all done, We move apart, while she singeth ever Taking the course of the ...
— Wee Wifie • Rosa Nouchette Carey

... autumn of 1598, an event now happened to sever for a time Jonson's relations with Henslowe. In a letter to Alleyn, dated September 26 of that year, Henslowe writes: "I have lost one of my company that hurteth me greatly; that is Gabriel [Spencer], for he is slain ...
— The Alchemist • Ben Jonson

... the happiest man on earth; and my heart was full of the most absurd vanity at the thought that she was mine, this beautiful woman, whose purity was high above all calumny. I had tied around my neck one of those fatal ropes which death alone can sever, and, fool that I ...
— Within an Inch of His Life • Emile Gaboriau

... the sword! and sever Our strong and mighty tie! We part, and part forever, To conquer or to die! In sorrow, not in anger, I speak the word, "We part!" For I leave thee to thy death-bed, And I ...
— War Poetry of the South • Various

... My blood, In vow no death can sever! Take ye, My body eat, In love to live forever! Remember ye My life and love, And raise your ...
— Parsifal - A Drama by Wagner • Retold by Oliver Huckel

... of promise,—that distant America, towards which the poor and oppressed of nearly all nations turn longing eyes in quest of a shelter. Eve saw with wonder aged men and women among them; beings who were about to sever most of the ties of the world in order to obtain relief from the physical pains and privations that had borne hard on them for more than threescore years. A few had made sacrifices of themselves in obedience to that mysterious instinct which man feels in his offspring; ...
— Homeward Bound - or, The Chase • James Fenimore Cooper

... teacher, her friend, and lover? She followed him, and concealed herself for him in the modest little dwelling at Potsdam. For him she lived in solitude, anxiously avoiding to show herself publicly, that the king should never know of her existence, and in his just anger sever the unlawful tie which bound her to the Prince of Prussia. [Footnote: "Memoirs of the Countess Lichtenau," p. 80.] Wilhelmine recalled the past seven years of her life, her two children, whom she had borne to the ...
— Old Fritz and the New Era • Louise Muhlbach

... affairs in general. Then, one of them referred pointedly to my implied promise to unburden myself on a certain subject, the nature of which he did not at the time know. I immediately decided that it would be best to "take the bull by the horns," submit my plans, and, if necessary, sever my connection with the firm, should its members force me to choose (as I put it) between themselves and Humanity. I then proceeded to unfold my scheme; and, though I may have exhibited a decided intensity of feeling during my discourse, ...
— A Mind That Found Itself - An Autobiography • Clifford Whittingham Beers

... perfection, glory-crowned, Shall rest in love for ever; When mortal systems sever, And the orbed universe is drowned, Leaving the empty skies The blank ...
— My Beautiful Lady. Nelly Dale • Thomas Woolner

... Declaration announced that the negroes were free and equal, how was the Prince to be arraigned for stirring up insurrection among them? And how was this to be enumerated among the high crimes which caused the colonies to sever their connection with the mother country? When our Constitution was formed, the same idea was rendered more palpable, for there we find provision made for that very class of persons as property; they were not put upon the footing ...
— American Eloquence, Volume III. (of 4) - Studies In American Political History (1897) • Various

... solve the problem in a way that seemed to her very simple. Her mind had never yet bowed to any obligation apart from personal love and reverence; she had no keen sense of any other human relations, and all she had to obey now was the instinct to sever herself from the ...
— Romola • George Eliot

... destined to fall from your country's crown. It is an obedience to the same law of Providence which sends the full-fledged bird from the nest, and the man from his father's house. Man shall not be able to sever what the immutable laws of Providence have joined together. The chafing chains of colonial dependence shall be exchanged for ties light as air, yet strong as steel. The peaceful and profitable interchange of commerce—the same language—a common literature—similar laws, and kindred institutions ...
— Modern Eloquence: Vol II, After-Dinner Speeches E-O • Various

... moments of relaxation, Jamie became aware that his wrists were exceedingly painful, and upon examination he discovered that they had been burned much worse than he had realized in his attempts to sever the string that bound them. Large blisters had been raised, and one of the blisters had been broken, doubtless while he was engaged in building his lean-to shelter. The loose skin had been rubbed off, and the angry red wound ...
— Troop One of the Labrador • Dillon Wallace

... Crash! sounded the muskets of the French marines. The English tried to cut their anchor chains and get free, but all who attempted to sever these hawsers were struck dead by the accurate balls from the marksmen on the poop-deck and round-house of ...
— Famous Privateersmen and Adventurers of the Sea • Charles H. L. Johnston

... Klatovy, Kolin, Kromeriz, Kutna Hora, Liberec, Litomerice, Louny, Melnik, Mlada Boleslav, Most, Nachod, Novy Jicin, Nymburk, Olomouc, Opava, Ostrava*, Pardubice, Pelhrimov, Pisek, Plzen*, Plzen-Jih, Plzen-Sever, Prachatice, Praha*, Praha-Vychod, Praha Zapad, Prerov, Pribram, Prostejov, Rakovnik, Rokycany, Rychnov nad Kneznou, Semily, Sokolov, Strakonice, Sumperk, Svitavy, Tabor, Tachov, Teplice, Trebic, Trutnov, Uherske Hradiste, Usti nad Labem, Usti nad Orlici, Vsetin, ...
— The 2000 CIA World Factbook • United States. Central Intelligence Agency.

... bands were cut, and we had no difficulty in believing that the hands which were dexterous enough to play the zither with very remarkable skill, under such conditions, behind the curtain, were deft enough to sever the cords. ...
— Preliminary Report of the Commission Appointed by the University • The Seybert Commission

... to triumph of thee: look therefore henceforth for no other honours, offerings, nor sacrifices from me, for these are the last which Cleopatra can give thee, sith now they carry her away. Whilst we lived together, nothing could sever our companies: but now at our death, I fear me they will make us change our countries. For as thou, being a Roman, hast been buried in Egypt: even so, wretched creature I, an Egyptian, shall be buried in Italy, which shall be all ...
— A Book of English Prose - Part II, Arranged for Secondary and High Schools • Percy Lubbock

... Carmen's worldly-mindedness; but ought you not to be indulgent, dear Sister, and remember that the child's early associations are still holding sway in her heart, and make great excuse for her? Brother Mauer, you remember, went away from the mission to his plantation, where, although he did not sever himself from our communion, there was not much to remind him of his religious obligations. His last wife, a hot-blooded Creole, could not be considered much help as regards keeping the faith. She loved ...
— Sister Carmen • M. Corvus

... And barely gain, the coarsest fare, From bitter thoughts and words refrain; Yield not to dark despair! The blackest night that e'er was born Was followed by a radiant morn; Heed not the world's unfeeling scorn, Nor think life's brittle thread to sever; Hope on—hope ever! ...
— Graham's Magazine Vol XXXIII No. 3 September 1848 • Various

... saw that it was a comminuted fracture of the elbow, with the whole right hand reduced to a pulp, and that amputation was the only thing. There were no anesthetics, and at daylight, on the deck where there was air and light, Nelson watched the surgeons sever the worthless arm. ...
— Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great, Vol. 13 - Little Journeys to the Homes of Great Lovers • Elbert Hubbard

... my Lord!" beseeched Richart, "restrain your fury. You cannot escape from this strong castle even though you sever the chain." ...
— The Strong Arm • Robert Barr

... again company with thee after this night.'" when the Commander of the Faithful heard this, he laughed a loud laugh and said, "By Allah, O my brother, thou art indeed excused in this matter, now that I know the cause and that the cause hath a tail. Nevertheless, Inshallah, I will not sever myself from thee." replied Abu al- Hasan, "O my guest, did I not say to thee, Far be it, alas! that what is past should again come to pass? For indeed I will never again foregather with any!'" then the Caliph rose and the host set before him a dish of roast goose and a bannock ...
— Supplemental Nights, Volume 1 • Richard F. Burton

... Island to Port Jackson Table V. Route of the Supply from Port Jackson to Lord Howe Island, and from thence to Port Jackson Table VI. Route of the Alexander, Lieut. Shortland, from Port Jackson to Batavia Table VII. Route of the Lady Penrhyn, Capt. Sever, from Port Jackson to Otaheite Table VIII.Route of the Lady Penrhyn, Capt. Sever, from Otaheite to China Table IX. Route of the Scarborough, Capt. Marshall, from Port Jackson to China List of the Convicts ...
— The Voyage Of Governor Phillip To Botany Bay • Arthur Phillip

... dust is hallowed, and we tread The footsteps of the mighty, meeting ever The prized memorials of the Living Dead, Those whose sublimed spirits, waning never, Hover around the struggling world and shed Their blessings o'er it, which nor time can sever, Nor can oblivion crush, but which endure Strong in their greatness, in ...
— Eidolon - The Course of a Soul and Other Poems • Walter R. Cassels

... of the Holy Apostle Andrew we are told that those who executed Andrew "lifted him up on the stauros," but "did not sever his joints, having received this order from the pro-consul, for he wished him to be in distress while hanging, and in the nighttime as he was suspended to be eaten by dogs." There is nothing to show that the stauros used was other than ...
— The Non-Christian Cross - An Enquiry Into the Origin and History of the Symbol Eventually Adopted as That of Our Religion • John Denham Parsons

... great deal more. Sixty days previously he had left Richmond with verbal dispatches from the Rebel Secretary of War to Jacob Thompson, the Rebel agent in Canada. These dispatches had relation to a vast plot, designed to wrap the West in flames, sever it from the East, and secure the independence of the South. Months before, the plot had been concocted by Jeff Davis at Richmond; and in May previous, Thompson, supplied with two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in sterling exchange, had been sent to Canada to superintend its execution. ...
— The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 16, No. 93, July, 1865 • Various

... and two hundred thousand muskets were assembled in and around Yorktown during this memorable siege. The mind shudders to see the terrible deductions of these statistics. The monster, who wished that the world had but one neck, that he might sever it, would have gloated at such realization! How many days or hours would have here sufficed to annihilate all the races of men? Happily, the world was spared the spectacle of these deadly mouths at once aflame. Beautiful but awful must have been the ...
— Campaigns of a Non-Combatant, - and His Romaunt Abroad During the War • George Alfred Townsend

... to hold him up even then, so he could reach with his claws strand after strand of the filmy purple web, which he was able to sever with one nip. ...
— Glinda of Oz • L. Frank Baum

... guessed, he had allowed himself to be taken prisoner; but, at the same time, he did not wish to be dragged nearer the fort than he could help. And though, to all appearance, he was a prisoner, he held something in his right hand by means of which he hoped to sever his bonds when he chose. He was very nearly as strong as his enemy, and, as he had managed to keep both his arms free, he hauled back the rope with all his might and main. But, in spite of his efforts, he was gradually losing ground, and, quite forgetting how important it was that the ...
— A Tale of the Summer Holidays • G. Mockler

... is, sir," he said, clambering down and bringing it to Rayner. A few blows on the bench served to sever the link already ...
— From Powder Monkey to Admiral - A Story of Naval Adventure • W.H.G. Kingston

... (it was time long ago) I should sever This chain—why I wear it I know not—forever! Yet I cling to the bond, e'en while sick of the mask I must wear, as of one whom his commonplace task And proof-armor of dullness have steeled to her charms! Ah! how ...
— Poems of Henry Timrod • Henry Timrod

... of the adventure, but at the same time pointing out to them that every additional seaman whose help we could secure added very materially to the chances of a successful issue. What I said seemed only to render them the more determined to sever their brief connection with the pirates at any cost, and they unhesitatingly declared their readiness to join me, and to implicitly obey my orders. More than this, they informed me that there were ...
— The Pirate Slaver - A Story of the West African Coast • Harry Collingwood

... written in these papers concerning the Gaelic revival. In a country governed against the will of its people, forces that, under normal and healthy conditions, would be purely beneficent, may easily grow explosive and disruptive. Yet I have not changed my mind on a critical question which led me to sever my connection with the work of the Gaelic League. When that body decided to rely on compulsion rather than persuasion, it took the wrong road, if its object was to endear the Irish language to all Ireland, and to induce all Irishmen to cherish it as part of the common national heritage. ...
— Irish Books and Irish People • Stephen Gwynn

... Perceiving that O'Connell's agitation was never likely to effect that object, despising the mean and corrupt practices by which that agitation was attended, and being filled with horror at the occurrence of so much agrarian crime, he came to the conclusion that an armed attempt to sever Ireland from Great Britain was the duty of Irishmen, and the only hope left for her political or social redemption. Mr. O'Brien was a member of the Church of England, and his sympathies were with the evangelical section. He was well acquainted ...
— The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.III. - From George III. to Victoria • E. Farr and E. H. Nolan

... its course, it passed by Saint-Sever, by the Quai des Curandiers, the Quai aux Meules, once more over the bridge, by the Place du Champ de Mars, and behind the hospital gardens, where old men in black coats were walking in the sun along the terrace all green with ivy. It went up the Boulevard Bouvreuil, along the Boulevard ...
— The Public vs. M. Gustave Flaubert • Various

... would every year pay him his tribute barefoot, like a suppliant, with twelve elders, also unshod. For he thought it better to punish a prisoner and a suppliant gently, than to draw the axe of bloodshed; better to punish that proud neck with constant slavery than to sever it once and for all. Then he went on and appointed his son Erik, surnamed Wind-hat, over Sweden. Here, while Fridleif and Siward were serving under him, he found that the Norwegians and the Scots had wrongfully conferred the title of king on two other men. ...
— The Danish History, Books I-IX • Saxo Grammaticus ("Saxo the Learned")

... in some Provinces of Muscovy, happens to them also in Livonia, and yet immediately subjoyns, that in Curland the Hares vary not their Colour in Winter, though these two last named Countries be contiguous, (that is) sever'd only by the River of Dugna; For it is scarce conceivable how Cold alone should have, in Countries so near, so strangely differing an operation, though no less strange a thing is confess'd by many, that ascribe ...
— Experiments and Considerations Touching Colours (1664) • Robert Boyle

... evidence of dissatisfaction with the measures of government, and great and deep dislike to the embargo; all this makes the case so much the stronger for her; for, notwithstanding all this dissatisfaction and dislike, she still claimed no right to sever the bonds of the Union. There was heat, and there was anger in her political feeling. Be it so; but neither her heat nor her anger betrayed her into infidelity to the government. The gentleman labors to prove ...
— The Great Speeches and Orations of Daniel Webster • Daniel Webster

... shoulders, as he spurs his horse to flight, having turned his body backwards and seized the staff of the standard, to wrest it by force from the hands of four others, of whom two are defending it, each with one hand, and, raising their swords in the other, are trying to sever the staff; while an old soldier in a red cap, crying out, grips the staff with one hand, and, raising a scimitar with the other, furiously aims a blow in order to cut off both the hands of those who, ...
— Lives of the Most Eminent Painters Sculptors and Architects - Vol. 04 (of 10), Filippino Lippi to Domenico Puligo • Giorgio Vasari

... now myself must sever, My little friend, from thee. Let naught oppress thee ever; ...
— Garman and Worse - A Norwegian Novel • Alexander Lange Kielland

... then cut his throat. The ox seemed fond of being rubbed and petted, so after a little time a firm hold on the tail was secured, and the big knife vigorously applied, but it was so very dull that he could not sever the tough old tendons. After sawing with the dull knife and being literally dragged for some distance, he became so much exhausted that he was obliged to relinquish his hold and see the excited ...
— Death Valley in '49 • William Lewis Manly

... was made in Paris by—But you never heard of him, Sicilian Vicenzu ... "Che bella sposina!" Her betrothal ring will not come off, Giuseppe; but the delicate bone snaps easily: your oyster-knife can sever the tendon ... "Guardate! chi bedda picciota!" Over her heart you will find it, Valentino—the locket held by that fine Swiss chain of woven ...
— Chita: A Memory of Last Island • Lafcadio Hearn

... not, sir!" said Nina, waving her arm with angry majesty, while her eyes sparkled as a lioness, whom the huntsmen would sever from her young. "I am the wife of Cola di Rienzi, the Great Senator of Rome, and by his side will I live ...
— Rienzi • Edward Bulwer Lytton

... my darling I must sever: Stream, oh tears, stream forth amain! In the breeze the rushes quiver And the willow sighs ...
— The German Classics of The Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, Vol. VII. • Various

... received increased encouragement. I marked them with a jealous eye, for I could not believe his attentions sanctioned either by you or Mr. Hamilton; but even my vigilance was at fault, for she had consented to sever every tie which bound her to her too indulgent parents, and fly with him to Scotland. This night would have seen the accomplishment of their design. Had one of my children behaved thus, it would have been less a matter of bewilderment to me than such conduct ...
— The Mother's Recompense, Volume I. - A Sequel to Home Influence in Two Volumes. • Grace Aguilar

... be warned by it. Therefore, I purposely behaved to her with great coolness and heartlessness. This she resented as usual. I then said to her, that though our affection had been of old date, I should not see her again; 'if you wish to sever from me you may suspect me as much as you like. If you prefer to enjoy long happiness with me in future, be modest and patient in trifling matters. If you can only be so, how can I do otherwise than love ...
— Japanese Literature - Including Selections from Genji Monogatari and Classical - Poetry and Drama of Japan • Various

... her to his breast, and wildly kissing her face, but with cold and trembling lips, "this is indeed a bitter hour; let me not sink beneath it. Yes, Madeline, ask your father if he consents; I hail your strengthening presence as that of an angel. I will not be the one to sever ...
— Eugene Aram, Complete • Edward Bulwer-Lytton

... perchance, we no more meet,— What though too soon we sever? Thy form will float like emerald light Before my vision ever. For who can see and then forget The glories of my gay brunette— Thou art too bright a star to set, Sweet daughter ...
— Southern Literature From 1579-1895 • Louise Manly

... wrote later that Madame Bechet had paid him the entire thirty-three thousand francs. This, however, did not end their troubles, and he longed to be free from his obligations, and to sever all connection ...
— Women in the Life of Balzac • Juanita Helm Floyd

... had gone outside of the broken surf water. One was attacked by a shark. The other went to his rescue, and actually beat the great fish off, though he lost his arm in doing so. As a rule, however, the shark kills with one bite, attacking the trunk of its victim, which it can sever in two with one great snap of ...
— Peeps At Many Lands: Australia • Frank Fox

... inconsistent duties sever My mind with cruel shock, As when the current of a river Is split ...
— Translations of Shakuntala and Other Works • Kaalidaasa

... at which he had left his home, the long absences of his youth, and the death of his father, had all contributed to sever his associations with New Orleans; so that his marriage in Norfolk, as was the case with so many officers of his day, fixed that city as his place of residence when not at sea. It is worthy of remembrance, in connection with his firm determination at a later day to stand by the Union ...
— Admiral Farragut • A. T. Mahan

... have inspired our own writers: their style has largely leavened the style of modern English, their thought has become so closely interwoven with English thought of the last three centuries that it is impossible to sever the two. And, if the question be of what is higher than literary impressions, no reader need fear that the more sacred uses of the Bible will be imperilled by his reading, not with the spirit only, but with the ...
— Select Masterpieces of Biblical Literature • Various

... gained a living elsewhere. Many of the absentees spend yearly a few months at home, whilst others visit their families only occasionally, and, it may be, at long intervals. In no case, however, do they sever their connection with their native village. Even the peasant who becomes a rich merchant and settles permanently with his family in Moscow or St. Petersburg remains probably a member of the Village Commune, and pays his share of the taxes, ...
— Russia • Donald Mackenzie Wallace

... in thought as free as ever, What are England's rights, I ask, Me from my delights to sever, Me to torture, me to task? Fleecy locks and black complexion Cannot forfeit Nature's claim; Skins may differ, but affection Dwells in black and white ...
— The History of the Rise, Progress and Accomplishment of the - Abolition of the African Slave-Trade, by the British Parliament (1839) • Thomas Clarkson

... pride of country which never deserts the native of a Free State, however harsh a parent she may have proved; and, above all, whatever his ambition and his passions, taking, from the very misfortunes he had known, an indomitable belief in the ultimate justice of Heaven;—he had refused to sever the last ties that connected him with his lost heritage and his forsaken land—he refused to be naturalised—to make the name he bore legally undisputed—he was contented to be an alien. Neither was Vaudemont fitted exactly for that ...
— Night and Morning, Volume 4 • Edward Bulwer Lytton

... strongly himself, and what Grayson had suggested, and thought how he could free himself from fealty to her by cutting out the whole love-business from his play. But that would be very hard. The thing had now knitted itself in one texture in his mind, and though he could sever the ties that bound the parts together, it would take from the piece the great element of charm. It was not symmetrical as it stood, but it was not two distinct motives; the motives had blended, and they really belonged to each other. He would have to invent ...
— The Story of a Play - A Novel • W. D. Howells

... B.C.).—Before penetrating to the heart of the empire, Alexander turned to the south, in order to effect the subjugation of Phoenicia, that he might command the Phoenician fleets and prevent their being used to sever his communication with Greece. The island-city of Tyre, after a memorable siege, was taken by means of a mole, or causeway, built with incredible labor through the sea to the city. Eight thousand of the inhabitants were slain, and ...
— A General History for Colleges and High Schools • P. V. N. Myers

... will be whole and refuses to be disparted, we seek to act partially, to sunder, to appropriate; for example,—to gratify the senses we sever the pleasure of the senses from the needs of the character. The ingenuity of man has always been dedicated to the solution of one problem,—how to detach the sensual sweet, the sensual strong, the sensual ...
— Essays, First Series • Ralph Waldo Emerson

... drawing it down the body. But this second attempt was no more successful than the first, the cord encountered some obstacle and became fixed. Burning with impatience, Raskolnikoff brandished the hatchet, ready to strike the corpse and sever the confounded string at the same blow. However, he could not make up his mind to proceed with such brutality. At last, after trying for two minutes, and staining his hands with blood, he succeeded in severing the cord with the blade of the hatchet without further disfiguring the dead body. As ...
— The Continental Classics, Volume XVIII., Mystery Tales • Various

... hit's over," said he. "One of the men had a Pawnee arrer in his laig. Reckon hit hurt. I know, fer I carried a Blackfoot arrerhead under my shoulder blade fer sever'l years. ...
— The Covered Wagon • Emerson Hough

... are jealous of those States. There may be men who dislike democracy, and who hate a republic; there may be even those whose sympathies warm towards the slave oligarchy of the South. But of this I am certain, that only misrepresentation the most gross or calumny the most wicked can sever the tie which unites the great mass of the people of this country with their friends and brethren beyond ...
— Speeches on Questions of Public Policy, Volume 1 • John Bright

... Thorndyke; "so should I; and so it has been done in every case of dismemberment that I am acquainted with. To an ordinary person, the arm seems to join on to the trunk at the shoulder-joint, and that is where he would naturally sever it. What explanation do you suggest of this unusual mode of ...
— The Vanishing Man • R. Austin Freeman

... fear death so sore but what they would suffer death in this case with good will, since they know well that the refusing of the faith, for any cause in this world (seemed the cause never so good), should yet sever them from God, with whom, save for other folk's profit, they so fain would be. And charity it cannot be, for the profit of the whole world, deadly to displease him ...
— Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation - With Modifications To Obsolete Language By Monica Stevens • Thomas More

... was a great and dashing cavalry general, at times an excellent commander-in-chief, but he was not a statesman. His conduct entangled the skeins of Spanish intrigue into a knot which only war could sever. ...
— The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte - Vol. III. (of IV.) • William Milligan Sloane

... long wind dieth, Never, never, But sigheth, crieth, In its old endeavor, Where the shifting sand and shingle Meet and mingle, And the lifting land and the surge of the waters sever! ...
— From The Lips of the Sea • Clinton Scollard

... lost in the endeavour, To leave no way, nor art, nor wile untried, Until he pluck the fruit he sighs for ever: And, though he still would spare thy honest pride, The knot that binds him he must loose or sever; Thou too, O lady, shouldst make sharp thy knife, If thou art fain to ...
— Sketches and Studies in Italy and Greece, Complete - Series I, II, and III • John Symonds

... this unhappy land, long divided in itself, and sever'd from the faith, will return into the one true fold, seeing that ...
— Queen Mary and Harold • Alfred Lord Tennyson

... never die, the whiles this verse Shall live, and surely it shall live for ever: For ever it shall live, and shall rehearse 255 His worthie praise, and vertues dying never, Though death his soule doo from his bodie sever: And thou thy selfe herein shalt also live; Such grace the heavens doo ...
— The Poetical Works of Edmund Spenser, Volume 5 • Edmund Spenser

... cried the surgeon. "It is in vain, Captain Lawton, that human ingenuity endeavors to baffle the efforts of nature. Think, my dear sir; in this case you separate all the arteries—injure all of the intestines—sever all of the nerves and sinews, and, what is of more ...
— The Spy • James Fenimore Cooper



Words linked to "Sever" :   cut, part, severance, lop, discerp, disunite, severing



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