Citations:ere

English citations of ere

• 1874, James Thomson, The City of Dreadful Night, XVI:

  This life itself holds nothing good for us,

  But ends soon and nevermore can be;

  And we knew nothing of it ere our birth,

  And shall know nothing when consigned to earth

• 1885, Richard F. Burton, The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Night 17:

  Then he came down rejoicing and said, "I have seen what seemeth to be a city as 'twere a pigeon." Hereat we rejoiced and, ere an hour of the day had passed, the buildings showed plain in the offing and we asked the Captain, "What is the name of yonder city?" and he answered "By Allah I wot not, for I never saw it before and never sailed these seas in my life: but, since our troubles have ended in safety, remains for you only to land their with your merchandise and, if you find selling profitable, sell and make your market of what is there; and if not, we will rest here two days and provision ourselves and fare away.

• 1896, A. E. Housman, A Shropshire Lad, XXXVI, line 13-14:

  But ere the circle homeward hies / Far, far must it remove

• 1896, A. E. Housman, A Shropshire Lad, XLVIII, line 8:

  Then it was well with me, in days ere I was born

• 1937, J. R. R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, I:

  Far over the Misty Mountains cold,

  to dungeons deep and caverns old,

  we must away, ere break of day,

  to seek our pale enchanted gold.

• Napoléon Bonaparte, attributed

  Able was I ere I saw Elba