"Remiss" Quotes from Famous Books
 ... course it would be remiss in you not to satisfy yourself on that point. My income's derived from three sources. First some property left me by my dear mother. Second a legacy from my poor brother—he had inherited a small fortune from an old relation of ours who took a great fancy to him (he ...
— The Reverberator • Henry James
... or it will convince us that the clamors are ill-grounded. A disposition to aggravate the miseries of captivity is too illiberal to be imputed to any but those subordinate characters, who, in every service, are too often remiss and unprincipled. This reflection assures me that you will acquiesce in the mode proposed for ascertaining the truth and detecting delinquency on one side, or falsehood on the other. The discussions and asperities which have had too much place on the subject of prisoners are so ...
— American Prisoners of the Revolution • Danske Dandridge
... great short coming of real, sincere and constant endeavors to preserve the worship of God, public and private. "In times of hazard, many ministers left off preaching, and the people hearing. We have been negligent and remiss in family worship; and, instead of preserving, many have done much to discourage and hinder it: And in secret we have been formal and careless: Many have satisfied themselves with the purity of the ordinances, neglecting the power thereof, yea, some ...
— The Auchensaugh Renovation of the National Covenant and • The Reformed Presbytery
... learned that the land which you have given away did not belong to your lordship, and never formed a portion of the Stowte estate in this parish. It was, and is, glebe land; and formed, at the time of your bestowal, a portion of my freehold as Vicar. I acknowledge that I was remiss in presuming that you as a landlord knew the limits of your own rights, and that you would not trespass beyond them. I should have made my inquiry more urgently. I have made it now, and your lordship may satisfy yourself by referring to the ...
— The Vicar of Bullhampton • Anthony Trollope
... know,' I returned uneasily, for I was afraid Max would think I had been remiss. 'Lady Betty is away, and I have only seen Gladys twice since my return, and each time I forgot to ...
— Uncle Max • Rosa Nouchette Carey
... and offering the box around him with another charming gesture accompanied with kindly smiles, he noticed the pleasure which his visit gave. He seemed then to comprehend why these young emigres had been remiss in their duty towards him, and to be saying to himself, "When we are making love we ...
— An Historical Mystery • Honore de Balzac
... have been remiss in courtesy," said Prince Florizel, and advancing to Silas, he addressed him with the most exquisite condescension in these words:- "I was charmed, young sir, to be able to gratify the desire you made known to me through Colonel Geraldine. Remember, if you please, that I shall be glad ...
— New Arabian Nights • Robert Louis Stevenson
... give up her evening to forming her own plans. Until this moment, she hadn't thought of Mattie as a complication. It didn't seem possible that one could become so attached to a child of ten years in—it wasn't yet ten days—that one not only hated to leave her, but even felt remiss, almost conscience-stricken, in ...
— Elsie Marley, Honey • Joslyn Gray
... all this, nothing but what I ought; and I need no other theology than my own to comprehend it.' The king answers—'Trust, in every thing, to my circumspection. My theology understands the thing just as yours does, and considers not only that you are doing your duty, but that you would have been remiss towards God and man, had you not done so, in order to enlighten my understanding, as completely as is necessary, against human deceits and upon the things of this world, at which ...
— Blackwoods Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 59, No. 366, April, 1846 • Various
... their useless mouths, or the failure to make any serious preparations for the defence of the town until his troops were beaten back into it, we see always the same evidence of a man who habitually hopes that all will go well, and is in consequence remiss in making preparations for their going ill. But unhappily in every one of these instances they did go ill, though the slowness of the Boers enabled us, both at Dundee and at Ladysmith, to escape what might ...
— The Great Boer War • Arthur Conan Doyle
... parents give him my "Mathematical Exposition of Orthodoxy for Children," or my "The Theology of Euclid," on his birthdays, instead of Hans Andersen's "Fairy Tales" and the "Tales from the Norse?" It was very remiss ...
— 'That Very Mab' • May Kendall and Andrew Lang
... that the study of zooelogy is an essential prerequisite to, and firm foundation for, that of history, social science, philosophy, and theology, just as really as for medicine. An adequate knowledge of any history demands more than the study of its last page. The zooelogist has been remiss in not claiming his birthright, and in this respect has sadly failed to follow the path ...
— The Whence and the Whither of Man • John Mason Tyler
... he was still in the Fowler's hand), he laughed a laugh of sorrow and cried, "Woe to thee, O Birder, whither be wended thy wits and thine understanding? Art Jinn-mad or wine-drunken? Art age-foolish or asleep? Art heavy-minded or remiss in thought? Indeed had I been that long-necked bird the 'Anka, daughter of Life, or were I the she- camel of Salih to be, or the ram of Isaac the sacrificed, or the loquent calf of Al-Samiri [FN302] or even a buffalo fattened daintily ...
— Supplemental Nights, Volume 6 • Richard F. Burton
... the glancing helm answered him and said: "Good brother, no man that is rightminded could make light of thy doings in fight, seeing thou art strong: but thou art wilfully remiss and hast no care; and for this my heart is grieved within me, that I hear shameful words concerning thee in the Trojans' mouths, who for thy sake endure much toil. But let us be going; all this will we make good hereafter, if Zeus ever vouchsafe ...
— The Iliad of Homer • Homer (Lang, Leaf, Myers trans.)
... qualities. The first lieutenant of the frigate we left had gone to his family. The second, in consequence, had become first. He was a thorough seaman, and carried on the duty with a tight hand. Woe betide the unfortunate mid who was remiss in his duties: the masthead or double watches were sure to be his portion. When the former, he hung out to dry two and sometimes four hours. The mids designated him "The Martinet." The second lieutenant was an elderly man, something of the old school, and not very polished, fond of spinning a ...
— A Sailor of King George • Frederick Hoffman
... "You have been very remiss in not coming to me sooner," said he, severely. "You start me on my investigation with a very serious handicap. It is inconceivable, for example, that this ivy and this lawn would have yielded nothing to an ...
— The Return of Sherlock Holmes • Arthur Conan Doyle
... that, he should, as before, harass Philip with attacks by sea. To the Rhodians, also, an embassy was sent, to engage them to contribute their share towards carrying on the war. Nor was Philip, who had by this time arrived in Macedonia, remiss in his preparations for the campaign. He sent his son Perseus, then very young, with part of his forces to block up the pass near Pelagonia, appointing persons out of the number of his friends to direct his inexperienced age. Sciathus and Peparethus, no inconsiderable cities, he demolished, ...
— History of Rome, Vol III • Titus Livius
... by the sun that he was long over-due. He walked briskly along the path through the sassafras and sumach bushes, on which the rain-drops still clung. He was presently brushing them off in showers, for he had begun to run. It occurred to him that this was no time to seem even a trifle remiss in his work at the tanyard. Since he had lost all his hopes down the ravine, the continuance of Jube Perkins's favor and the dreary routine with the mule and the bark-mill were his best prospects. It would never do to ...
— Down the Ravine • Charles Egbert Craddock (real name: Murfree, Mary Noailles)
... built on other people's foundation, and will very well atone for some faults in her numerous productions. As the Duchess is said to be negligent, in regard to chronology in her historical writings, so others have been equally remiss, in this respect, with regard to her Grace, for, among the many authors who have taken notice of her, not one has mentioned the year in which she died, and even her monumental inscription, where one might reasonably expect ...
— The Lives of the Poets of Great Britain and Ireland (1753) - Volume II • Theophilus Cibber
... Rescript. WE have heard that if a sovereign is remiss in government, Heaven terrifies him by calamities and strange portents. These are divine reprimands sent to recall him to a sense of duty. Thus, partial eclipses of the sun and moon are manifest warnings that the rod of empire is not wielded aright. Ever since WE ascended the throne, ...
— Moon Lore • Timothy Harley
... course of a few days, the sailors, like the doctor and myself, were cajoled out of everything, and our "tayos," all round, began to cool off quite sensibly. So remiss did they become in their attentions that we could no longer rely upon their bringing us the daily supply of food, which all ...
— Omoo: Adventures in the South Seas • Herman Melville
... person of Don Luys Perez Dasmarinas, whom I found acting as governor, I assure your Majesty that all his thought and life is dedicated to God and virtue. However, in matters of government I do not know what will be the outcome of some things, which I find very confused and remiss. I shall give you a more detailed account of them in a later letter, for now this vessel is on the point of sailing, and is ...
— The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 - Volume IX, 1593-1597 • E. H. Blair
... Against unequal armes to fight in paine, Against unpaind, impassive; from which evil Ruin must needs ensue; for what availes Valour or strength, though matchless, quelld with pain Which all subdues, and makes remiss the hands Of Mightiest. Sense of pleasure we may well Spare out of life perhaps, and not repine, 460 But live content, which is the calmest life: But pain is perfet miserie, the worst Of evils, and excessive, ...
— The Poetical Works of John Milton • John Milton
... many could ever be duped to be converted; when, however, the delusion began to spread, the publishers saw the door opened not only for wealth, but also for extensive power, and their history throughout shews that they have not been remiss in their efforts to acquire both. The extent of their desires is now by no means limited, for their writings and actions shew a design to pursue the same path, and attain the same end by the same means, ...
— Travels and Adventures of Monsieur Violet • Captain Marryat
... with this to have given you assurance, that by retarding the hatching of seed, two crops of silk or more {27} might be made in a Summer: but my servants have been remiss in what was ordered, I must crave your patience ...
— Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society - Vol 1 - 1666 • Various
... place of amusement and instruction combined we should be remiss not to mention the Casino of Havana. It is carried on by an organized society formed on the basis of a club and has, we were told, over one hundred members. The Casino occupies a fine building, fronting Obispo Street, and close to the parks. It supports a free school for teaching the English ...
— Due South or Cuba Past and Present • Maturin M. Ballou
... rank-tokens of the states, small and large, Which depended on him like the pendants of a banner:—So did he receive the blessing of Heaven. He was neither violent nor remiss, Neither hard nor soft. Gently he spread his instructions abroad, And all dignities and riches were ...
— The Shih King • James Legge
... among the people in general is easy to be imagined. In truth, I regard the Typees as a back-slidden generation. They are sunk in religious sloth, and require a spiritual revival. A long prosperity of bread-fruit and cocoanuts has rendered them remiss in the performance of their higher obligations. The wood-rot malady is spreading among the idols—the fruit upon their altars is becoming offensive—the temples themselves need rethatching—the tattooed clergy are altogether too light-hearted ...
— Typee - A Romance of the South Sea • Herman Melville
... orthodox principles of religion. But our venerable mother had contrived to unite the opposite extremes of bigotry and indifference: an heretic, or unbeliever, was a monster in her eyes; but she was always, or often, or sometimes, remiss in the spiritual education of her own children. According to the statutes of the university, every student, before he is matriculated, must subscribe his assent to the thirty-nine articles of the church of England, which are signed by more than read, and read by more than believe them. ...
— Memoirs of My Life and Writings • Edward Gibbon
... to the extent that Congress intended, finally brought out the now historic "Prayer of Twenty Millions"—an editorial signed by Horace Greeley and addressed to Abraham Lincoln. It charged the President with being disastrously remiss in the discharge of his official duty and unduly influenced by the menaces of border slave State politicians. It declared that the Union was suffering from timid counsels and mistaken deference to rebel slavery; that all ...
— A Political History of the State of New York, Volumes 1-3 • DeAlva Stanwood Alexander
... well! You have been a very patient little lady, that is all I can say. Giusippe and I have been both rude and remiss, haven't we, Giusippe? I thought of course you understood; and yet it is not at all strange that you did not. As you say, how could you? Why didn't you ask ...
— The Story of Glass • Sara Ware Bassett
... state, and press for the war all who were old enough to bear arms; he states his own Merits, and conjures them to consider his safety, and not surrender him, who had deserved so well of the general freedom, to the enemy for torture; he points out to them that, if they should be remiss, eighty thousand chosen men would perish with him; that, upon making a calculation, he had barely corn for thirty days, but could hold out a little longer by economy." After giving these instructions he silently dismisses the cavalry in the second ...
— "De Bello Gallico" and Other Commentaries • Caius Julius Caesar
... some churches in recent times, to have been remiss in sending on the "collections," and hence we find Paul, a year later, to be "After Money Again." He writes so nobly, so kindly, that we are tempted to quote a ...
— American Missionary, Volume 44, No. 1, January, 1890 • Various
... strangely and disastrously remiss in the discharge of your official and imperative duty with regard to the emancipating provisions of the ...
— The Life of Abraham Lincoln • Henry Ketcham
... whither could I turn my steps? The fear too of aggravating the already hard lot of my companions, turned aside any ideas which I might have entertained of attempting a flight. Moreover, our guards were not by any means remiss in their duties. During the whole night, I heard very plainly, people walking round the walls, and striking the hours by means of a couple of dry sticks. My attendants too came very often into the entry with a light, in order to see what I was doing. Before ...
— Hair Breadth Escapes - Perilous incidents in the lives of sailors and travelers - in Japan, Cuba, East Indies, etc., etc. • T. S. Arthur
... should have mentioned it earlier, but in the evening's disturbance it escaped my memory, I fear I have been remiss, sir." ...
— Right Ho, Jeeves • P. G. Wodehouse
... proposed to join with him in writing a novel, as Warner had done. Lewis Carroll did not call, being too timid, but they met the author of "Alice in Wonderland" one night at a dinner, "the shyest full-grown man, except Uncle Remiss, I ever saw," Mark Twain ...
— Widger's Quotations from Albert Bigelow Paine on Mark Twain • David Widger
... thee. Be to the flock of Christ a shepherd, not a wolf; feed them, devour them not. Hold up the weak, heal the sick, bind up the broken, bring again the outcasts, seek the lost. Be so merciful, that you be not too remiss; so minister discipline, that you forget not mercy: that when the chief Shepherd shall appear you may receive the never-fading crown of glory; through Jesus Christ our ...
— The Book of Common Prayer - and The Scottish Liturgy • Church of England
... latter end of our work our keepers grew more and more remiss in their care of us. At my first coming thither, I had contracted a familiarity with one of the natives, but of a different kingdom, who was then a slave with me; and he and I being able tolerably to understand each other, ...
— Life And Adventures Of Peter Wilkins, Vol. I. (of II.) • Robert Paltock
... Crewys, considerately lowering her voice as the butler and footman crossed the hall to the outer vestibule, "that dear Mary is more than a little remiss in civility to ...
— Peter's Mother • Mrs. Henry De La Pasture
... smiling nod. "I'm making big medicine, Mrs. Parker. So big, in fact," he continued, as he folded his napkin and thrust it carefully into the ring, "that I am going to ask your permission to withdraw. I have been very remiss in my social duties. I have been home twenty-four hours and I have passed the Mission de la Madre Dolorosa three times, yet I have not been inside to pay my respects to my old friends there. I shall be in disgrace if I fail to call this evening for Father ...
— The Pride of Palomar • Peter B. Kyne
... I, admiring, too remiss, Forgot to scare the hovering flies, Yet envied every fly the kiss, It dar'd ...
— Fugitive Pieces • George Gordon Noel Byron
... And Lady Arabella looked her admiration for this very talented suggestion. And so that matter was arranged. The doctor never knew, till Mary told him some year or so afterwards, that he had been remiss in any ...
— Doctor Thorne • Anthony Trollope
... pretended bewitched, or by the confessing witches. Some had been publicly named. Dudley Bradstreet, a justice of peace, who had been appointed one of President Dudley's council, and who was son to the worthy old governor, then living, found it necessary to abscond. Having been remiss in prosecuting, he had been charged by some of the afflicted as a confederate. His brother, John Bradstreet, was forced ...
— Salem Witchcraft, Volumes I and II • Charles Upham
... remiss of me, and altogether below the character which I trust I have acquired for honest plain speaking, if I omitted to give my views upon Mr. Wyndham's Act, for those readers who regard my book as something more than a storehouse of anecdotes—and since it is written at all, I maintain it claims to be ...
— The Reminiscences of an Irish Land Agent • S.M. Hussey
... tradesmen's catalogues can scarcely be regarded as literature, and yet it would be very remiss on my part to close this chapter without a reference to the excellent catalogues with which stamp collectors are provided. What other hobby can boast of such comprehensive and detailed catalogues, giving the actual selling price of almost every item, and regularly revised and brought up to date ...
— Stamp Collecting as a Pastime • Edward J. Nankivell
... the little girl to me some years ago," observed Mr Shallard to Adam; "and I am afraid we have been remiss in not making more efforts to ascertain to what family she can belong, although the difficulties have increased by the length of time which has elapsed. The expense, however, will, I fear, be considerable, though really for the sake of so interesting a young lady I should ...
— Won from the Waves • W.H.G. Kingston
... said Mr. Meredith. He stood up and looked at Mrs. Davis with eyes that made her quail. "That will do," he repeated. "I desire to hear no more, Mrs. Davis. You have said too much. It may be that I have been remiss in some respects in my duty as a parent, but it is not for you to remind me of it in such terms as you have used. Let us say ...
— Rainbow Valley • Lucy Maud Montgomery
... long rod, the light whistle of the line through the air, and the careful manipulation of the flies through the water. Or was it something else that he was watching—something that awakened in his mind a sudden sense of surprise and fear, and a new and strange consciousness that he had been guiltily remiss? ...
— Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science - April, 1873, Vol. XI, No. 25. • Various
... your Letter* duly, some time ago, with many welcomes; and have as you see been too remiss in answering it. Not from forgetfulness, if you will take my word; no, but from many causes, too complicated to articulate, and justly producing an indisposition to put pen to paper at all! Never was I more silent than in these very months; and, with reason too, for the ...
— The Correspondence of Thomas Carlyle and Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1834-1872, Vol II. • Thomas Carlyle and Ralph Waldo Emerson
... necessary strictness, I should make myself censurable, as if I aimed at too much perfection: for, however one's duty is one's duty, and ought not to be dispensed with; yet, when a person, who uses to be remiss, sees so hard a task before them, and so many great points to get over, all to be no more than tolerably regular, it is rather apt to frighten and discourage, than to allure; and one must proceed, as I have read soldiers do, in a difficult siege, inch by inch, and be more studious to entrench ...
— Pamela (Vol. II.) • Samuel Richardson
... romance than of scientific history. Yet the main facts are clear. Philo prepared a long philosophical "apologia" for the Jews and set out with five colleagues for Italy. Nor were the enemies of the Jews remiss; and Apion, the Alexandrian anti-Semite, was sent at the head of a hostile deputation. The emperor, Gaius, was in one of his most flippant moods and little inclined to listen to philosophical or literary disquisitions. At first he received the Jewish deputation ...
— Philo-Judaeus of Alexandria • Norman Bentwich
... liberty of action was granted to the Etrurians, not more through fear than from policy; for Valerius, intent on an opportunity of falling unawares upon a number of them, and when straggling, a remiss avenger in trifling matters, reserved the weight of his vengeance for more important occasions. Wherefore, to decoy the pillagers, he ordered his men to drive their cattle the next day out at the Esquiline ...
— The History of Rome, Books 01 to 08 • Titus Livius
... without any foreign assistance, resisted the power of France; the natural temper of the French nation, he imagined, would make them easily abandon any enterprise which required perseverance; and as the heir of the crown was confederated with the duke of Brittany, the ministers would be still more remiss in prosecuting a scheme which must draw on them his resentment and displeasure. Should even these internal obstructions be removed, Maximilian, whose enmity to France was well known, and who now paid his addresses ...
— The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.I., Part C. - From Henry VII. to Mary • David Hume
... the department from North and South Carolina indicate that while the troops in Virginia are almost perishing for food, the farmers are anxious to deliver the tithes, but the quartermaster and commissary agents are negligent or designedly remiss in their duty. The consequence will be the loss of the greater portion of these supplies, and the enhancement of the price of the remainder in the hands ...
— A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital • John Beauchamp Jones
... world outside had waited for silence before speaking, there came a murmur of sound from the further side of the house. Isabel started up; surely there was anger in that low roar from the village; was it this that her father had feared? Had she been remiss? Lady Maxwell too sprang up and faced the window with wide ...
— By What Authority? • Robert Hugh Benson
... another drawing-lesson. The truth of the matter was that Elizabeth Madden felt some slight pangs of conscience with regard to her own part in this sudden friendship which had arisen between Laura Dunbar and Philip Jocelyn. She felt that she had been rather remiss in her duties as duenna, and was angry with herself. But stronger than this feeling of self-reproach was her ...
— Henry Dunbar - A Novel • M. E. Braddon
... possible. At Paris, I am sure you must observe 'que chacun se fait valoir autant qu'il est possible'; and La Bruyere observes, very justly, qu'on ne vaut dans ce monde que ce qu'on veut valoir': wherever applause is in question, you will never see a French man, nor woman, remiss or negligent. Observe the eternal attentions and politeness that all people have there for one another. 'Ce n'est pas pour leurs beaux yeux au moins'. No, but for their own sakes, for commendations and ...
— The PG Edition of Chesterfield's Letters to His Son • The Earl of Chesterfield
... their obedience to the king. Feeling themselves irresponsible, the governors of the provinces, the civil functionaries, both high and low, the municipal officers, and the military commanders had all become extremely remiss in their duty, and presuming upon this impunity showed a pernicious indulgence to the rebels and their adherents which rendered abortive all the regent's measures of coercion. This general indifference and corruption of so ...
— The Works of Frederich Schiller in English • Frederich Schiller
... her, and upon the pleasures which he had enjoyed with her in Egypt, and he longed so much to see her again, that he was wholly unfit for the discharge of his duties in the camp. He became timid, inefficient, and remiss, and almost every thing that he undertook ended disastrously. The army, who understood perfectly well the reason of their commander's remissness and consequent ill fortune, were extremely indignant at his conduct, and the camp was filled with suppressed ...
— Cleopatra • Jacob Abbott
... remiss in improving the advantage he enjoyed of seeing and conversing with a beauty of whom he was so passionately enamoured; for he would never leave her till obliged by his mother. "My son," she would say, "it is not proper for a young man like you to be always ...
— The Arabian Nights Entertainments Complete • Anonymous
... made meager progress under Company control: few settlers were sent out; and they were not provided with proper means of defense against Indian depredations. Under the circumstances it did not take Colbert long to see how remiss the Company of One Hundred Associates had been, nor to reach a decision that the colony should be at once withdrawn from its control. He accordingly persuaded the monarch to demand the surrender of the Company's charter and to reprimand the Associates for the shameless ...
— Crusaders of New France - A Chronicle of the Fleur-de-Lis in the Wilderness - Chronicles of America, Volume 4 • William Bennett Munro
... fragments lay, and, heading in that direction, he moved carefully forward, while he kept his eyes fixed upon that dreaded red-skin, who certainly seemed a remiss sentinel when in an enemy's country. Only a few feet interposed, and these were speedily passed over, and Fred stretched out his hand to lay it upon what seemed the ...
— In the Pecos Country • Edward Sylvester Ellis (AKA Lieutenant R.H. Jayne)
... appealed to by Greece against the pressure brought to bear upon her. On the 18th of April a Convention was signed in London disposing of the whole dispute, and referring Don Pacifico's claims against Portugal to arbitration. Lord Palmerston was remiss in communicating the progress of those negotiations to Mr Wyse, who persisted in his coercive measures, disregarding the intelligence on the subject he received from Baron Gros, and Greece accordingly submitted to his terms. France and Russia were ...
— The Letters of Queen Victoria, Vol 2 (of 3), 1844-1853 • Queen Victoria
... from its Passions, is of a remiss and sedentary Nature, slow in its Resolves, and languishing in its Executions. The Use therefore of the Passions is to stir it up, and to put it upon Action, to awaken the Understanding, to enforce the Will, and to make the whole Man more vigorous and attentive in the Prosecutions ...
— The Spectator, Volume 2. • Addison and Steele
... and nervous, too. Since they had been married she had found such delight in preparing Louis's meals that she was miserable in not doing it to-day. She felt that she was to blame, that she had been remiss somewhere, though she could not see where. But she answered him crossly and impatiently, and he began to ...
— Captivity • M. Leonora Eyles
... Papilios, Pieridae Danaidae, and Nymphalidae are equally preeminent. There is, perhaps, no island in the world so small as Amboyna where so many grand insects are to be found. Here are three of the very finest Ornithopterae—priamus, helena, and remiss; three of the handsomest and largest Papilios—ulysses, deiphobus, and gambrisius; one of the handsomest Pieridae, Iphias leucippe; the largest of the Danaidae, Hestia idea; and two unusually large and handsome Nymphalidae—Diadema pandarus, and Charaxes euryalus. Among its beetles are the extraordinary ...
— The Malay Archipelago - Volume II. (of II.) • Alfred Russel Wallace
... one's feet. render neglectful &c. adj.; put off one's guard, throw off one's guard; distract, divert. Adj. neglecting &c. v.; unmindful, negligent, neglectful; heedless, careless, thoughtless; perfunctory, remiss; feebleness &c. 575. inconsiderate; uncircumspect[obs3], incircumspect[obs3]; off one's guard; unwary, unwatchful[obs3], unguarded; offhand. supine &c. (inactive) 683; inattentive &c. 458; insouciant &c. ...
— Roget's Thesaurus
... Cadis are remiss in their duty: Mahoud is certainly hid in my city: all is not right, Horam; the poor son of the jeweller would be proud to own that he was formerly the companion of the Sultan of the Indies, though in his distress; he had long ere this been at the foot of my throne, ...
— Eastern Tales by Many Story Tellers • Various
... by the report of the Provincial Judges, that you the Fathers of the State, who ought to set an example to your sons (the ordinary citizens), have been so remiss in the payment of taxes that on this first collection[259] nothing, or next to nothing, has been brought in from any Senatorial house. Thus a crushing weight has fallen on the lower orders (tenues, curiales), who have had to make good your deficiencies and have ...
— The Letters of Cassiodorus - Being A Condensed Translation Of The Variae Epistolae Of - Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator • Cassiodorus (AKA Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator)
... (-ary); admis'sible; admis'sion; com'missary, an officer who furnishes provisions for an army; commissa'riat; commis'sion (-er); com'promise; demise', death; em'issary; intermis'sion; omis'sion; permis'sion; premise'; prem'ises; prom'ise (-ory); remiss' ...
— New Word-Analysis - Or, School Etymology of English Derivative Words • William Swinton
... that such a life as I am now describing must be incompatible with my further progress in learning; and that in proportion as I addicted myself more and more to loose pleasure, I must grow more and more remiss in application to my studies. This was truly the consequence; but this was not all. My expenses now greatly exceeded not only my former income, but those additions which I extorted from my poor generous father, on pretences of sums being necessary for preparing for my approaching ...
— The History of Tom Jones, a foundling • Henry Fielding
... Angelo, belike thinking me remiss 110 in mine office, awakens me with this unwonted putting-on; methinks strangely, for he hath ...
— Measure for Measure - The Works of William Shakespeare [Cambridge Edition] [9 vols.] • William Shakespeare
... the Bliss was offer'd? Possess thee too without a Crime to thee? Charge not my Soul with so remiss a flame, So dull a sense of Virtue ...
— The Works of Aphra Behn, Vol. III • Aphra Behn
... ruin impending over her father, the result of his mingled good-nature and indolence, he having permitted the tenants to run in arrears, and suffer dilapidations, as already said;—the long neglect, however, of the East Indian landlord being at the root of the evil, who had been as remiss in his dealings with the steward as the steward with the tenants. The first appearance of this newly appointed agent, who announced the early return of his employer to take possession of the decayed manor-house, ...
— Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol 58, No. 357, July 1845 • Various
... He that works From impulse, seeking profit, rude and bold To overcome, unchastened; slave by turns Of sorrow and of joy: of Rajas he! And there be evil doers; loose of heart, Low-minded, stubborn, fraudulent, remiss, Dull, slow, despondent—children of ...
— The Bhagavad-Gita • Sir Edwin Arnold
... them. And, as has been said, the Will and Inventory proved at Elsbeth's death, six years after her husband's, that he had made no bad provision for them in the matter of material comforts, however remiss his ...
— Holbein • Beatrice Fortescue
... rod of equity and mercy: and God, from whom all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works do proceed, direct and assist you in the administration and exercise of all those powers he hath given you. Be so merciful, that you be not too remiss; so execute justice, that you forget not mercy. Punish the wicked, protect the oppressed; and the blessing of him who was ready to perish shall be upon you; thus in all things following His great and holy example, of whom the prophet David said, "Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest iniquity; ...
— Coronation Anecdotes • Giles Gossip
... it. When Thea opened the gate, old Mrs. Kohler was just coming in from the chicken yard, with five fresh eggs in her apron and a pair of old top-boots on her feet. She called Thea to come and look at a bantam egg, which she held up proudly. Her bantam hens were remiss in zeal, and she was always delighted when they accomplished anything. She took Thea into the sitting-room, very warm and smelling of food, and brought her a plateful of little Christmas cakes, made according to old and hallowed formulae, and put them before her while she warmed her feet. Then ...
— Song of the Lark • Willa Cather
... her perceptions, he was always figuring away with Felicia Vanderkist, her golden hair seemed always gleaming with him; and though this was not always the case, as the nephew of the house was one of those who had duties to guests and was not allowed by his aunts to be remiss, yet whenever he was not ordered about by them, he was sure to be found ...
— Modern Broods • Charlotte Mary Yonge
... good, yea very good, while upon my knees; indeed I must say my happiest moments have been there. Why am I ever remiss in this duty, which brings me more solid peace than anything beside? There, I converse with God; there, behold His glory; there, forget self; there, get love to cover faults; there, assimilate to the image of God. This week has been marked by the affliction of my two youngest ...
— Religion in Earnest - A Memorial of Mrs. Mary Lyth, of York • John Lyth
... your majesty, I have a word with you." "And I have one or two with you, peradventure," said the Evil One. "I have been over the half of Hell," said he, "to see how your affairs went. You have many officers in the East who are remiss, and take their ease instead of attending to the torturing of their prisoners and to their safe keeping; it was this that gave rise to the great rebellion. And moreover many of your fiends, and of the lost whom you sent to the world to tempt men, have not returned, although their time is ...
— The Visions of the Sleeping Bard • Ellis Wynne
... I am sorry for Nora. Of course, as to Molly, she is quite different. She has always had the advantage of my bringing-up; whereas poor Nora—well, I must say I am surprised at my sister-in-law. I did not think your father's sister would have been so remiss." ...
— Light O' The Morning • L. T. Meade
... I had better take you round some day, but I have been a very remiss protector, my poor child, if all be true that I am told of some of Mervyn's friends. It was an insult to have them under the same roof ...
— Hopes and Fears - scenes from the life of a spinster • Charlotte M. Yonge
... his hat, and the other men did likewise. I thought his prayer remarkable. I still remember it. He began, "Oh, great and just God, no man among us knows what the sleeper knows, nor is it for us to judge what lies between him and Thee." He prayed that if any man there had been remiss toward the stranger come to a far country, God would forgive him and soften his heart. He recalled the promises to the widow and the fatherless, and asked God to smooth the way before this widow and her children, and to "incline the hearts of men ...
— My Antonia • Willa Sibert Cather
... sir, it is not intended to be insinuated that you have, been remiss in the performance of the arduous and responsible duties of your Department, which, I take pleasure in affirming, has in your hands been conducted with admirable success. Yet, while your subordinates are almost of necessity brought into angry collision ...
— A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents: Lincoln - Section 1 (of 2) of Volume 6: Abraham Lincoln • Compiled by James D. Richardson
... not able to find words to express their admiration, when they beheld the faith, the cheerfulness and constancy of the holy martyrs in their sufferings. But what excuse shall we allege in the tremendous judgment, who, without meeting with such cruel persecution and torments, are so remiss and slothful in maintaining the spiritual life of our souls, and the charity of God! What shall we do in that terrible day, when the holy martyrs, placed near the throne of God, with great confidence ...
— The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Principal Saints - January, February, March • Alban Butler
... at keeping us in; there were but three escapes all winter. But communication with the outside world was fairly easy and was kept up unceasingly. Many of the inmates had friends among the slaves of Nuceria. The gate-guards were so remiss that, daily, one or more outsiders entered our prison and left when they pleased. The henchmen of the dictator even managed to slip out and spend an hour or more where they pleased in the city. This, however, was possible only if they returned soon, for the superintendent ...
— Andivius Hedulio • Edward Lucas White
... happenings to prove beyond doubt that Senora Austin was miserably unhappy with her husband and ready to welcome such a dashing lover as Longorio. Therefore Jose could not for the life of him imagine wherein he had been remiss. Nevertheless, he was uneasy, and he hoped that nothing had ...
— Heart of the Sunset • Rex Beach
... used to beg off most piteously. Our excellent brother, Dr. Fillmore, had taken a notion at this time that our Sandemanian churches needed more expression of mutual sympathy. He insisted upon it that we were remiss. He said, that, if the Bishop came to preach at Naguadavick, all the Episcopal clergy of the neighborhood were present; if Dr. Pond came, all the Congregational clergymen turned out to hear him; if Dr. Nichols, all the Unitarians; and he thought we owed it to each other that, whenever there ...
— The Best American Humorous Short Stories • Various
... be admitted to be the chief good which is destitute of virtue, to which nothing can be superior. Therefore, although in that discourse which was held with Torquatus we were not remiss, still we have now a much sharper contest before us with the Stoics. For the statements which are made about pleasure are not expressed with any great acuteness or refinement. For they who defend it are not skilful in arguing, nor have those ...
— The Academic Questions • M. T. Cicero
... circumstance had not occurred till the picture was finished, which now struck us with dismay. It was so very large that we had no place in the house to fix it. How we all came to disregard so material a point is inconceivable; but certain it is, we had been all greatly remiss. The picture, therefore, instead of gratifying our vanity, as we hoped, leaned, in a most mortifying manner, against the kitchen wall, where the canvas was stretched and painted, much too large to be got through any of the doors, and the jest of all our neighbors. ...
— The Ontario Readers: The High School Reader, 1886 • Ministry of Education
... those, who adopt the psychological theory, have been remiss in the observation of particular mental facts,—those who deny the theory have been far more than remiss; they have been blind to obvious facts contradicting the principles which they lay down. Mr Mill, in chap, xiv., deals with this denial, ...
— Review of the Work of Mr John Stuart Mill Entitled, 'Examination of Sir William Hamilton's Philosophy.' • George Grote
... her good-breeding scarcely concealed her conviction that if you were not a soldier you might as well be a counter-jumper. She hated the Guards, whom she thought conceited, and she could not trust herself to speak of their ladies, who were so remiss in calling. Her gown was dowdy ...
— The Moon and Sixpence • W. Somerset Maugham
... and she would coolly take twenty, while he shrugged his shoulders and declared she would be his ruin. He had never repented of marrying her, in spite of the fact that she did not always keep house as his mother and grandmother had kept it; that she was gravely remiss in going to mass; and that she quarrelled with more than one of her neighbours, who had an idea that Spain was an inferior country because it was south of France, just as the habitants regarded the ...
— The Judgment House • Gilbert Parker
... impudence of this letter had the effect which the writer had intended. It made Alice think immediately of her own remissness,—if she had been remiss,—rather than of the enormity of his claim upon her. The decision with which he asked for her money, without any pretence at an excuse on his part, did for the time induce her to believe that she had no alternative but to give it to him, and that she had ...
— Can You Forgive Her? • Anthony Trollope
... Aug.) on the companies, according to rates agreed upon at the time of the loan of L20,000 to the late queen in 1598,(37) and it was to be delivered to Sir Thomas Lowe, the treasurer of the fund, by the 5th September. Some of the companies, however, proved remiss in ...
— London and the Kingdom - Volume II • Reginald R. Sharpe
... "had numbered twice the years of his fair wife. His temper was said to have been peevish and suspicious; yet not beneath those circumstances had her kind and cheerful attentions to him grown cold or remiss. He left her a jointure of 600l. per annum, a son to inherit his estate, and two ...
— Evolution, Old & New - Or, the Theories of Buffon, Dr. Erasmus Darwin and Lamarck, - as compared with that of Charles Darwin • Samuel Butler
... Bob Wharton's peculiarly mutable temperament he was not remiss in his duties toward Lorelei during the period that led up to the birth of their child. Utterly careless and improvident in his own affairs, he was naturally considerate of others and possessed a surprising depth of sympathy. Hence he met the responsibilities ...
— The Auction Block • Rex Beach
... accounts are of much more importance than any others; and it is therefore important to appoint a person who is thoroughly competent and reliable to inspect everything pertaining to the royal estate of the said islands; for the accountants hitherto appointed have been remiss in their proceedings. That has arisen from the poverty of the country, and from all being united there; or because those who try to proceed with any show of thoroughness in your Majesty's service do not find aid in those who can give ...
— The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 (Vol 27 of 55) • Various
... present unhappy state of the republic was considered as the effect of the wrath of the gods: and it was acknowledged to be justly deserved, particularly with regard to two deities, towards whom the Carthaginians had been remiss in the discharge of certain duties prescribed by their religion, and which had once been observed with great exactness. It was a custom (coeval with the city itself) at Carthage, to send annually to Tyre (the mother city) the tenth of all ...
— The Ancient History of the Egyptians, Carthaginians, Assyrians, • Charles Rollin
... superior to those of any other nation, and the clergy are, at least, equal. This is not, indeed, saying a great deal; but it is so difficult, in matters of religion, to temper zeal, and draw a line between emulation and fanaticism, that, perhaps, it is better that they should be a little remiss than righteous overmuch. It is not in the education of churchmen, but in the manner of paying and providing for them, that the error lies; and ...
— An Inquiry into the Permanent Causes of the Decline and Fall of Powerful and Wealthy Nations. • William Playfair
... will not. It will, if thou watch and be sober; it will not, if thou be foolish and remiss. Men of great grace may grow consumptive in grace, and idleness may turn him that wears a plush jacket into rags. David was once a man of great grace, but his sin made the grace which he had so to shrink up and dwindle away ...
— The Riches of Bunyan • Jeremiah Rev. Chaplin
... go with him to his study. Wondering what he meant by his strange request, I followed him, and when we had entered the study he closed the door, and in his blunt way remarked: "Lizzie, I am going to flog you." I was thunderstruck, and tried to think if I had been remiss in anything. I could not recollect of doing anything to deserve punishment, and with surprise exclaimed: "Whip ...
— Behind the Scenes - or, Thirty years a slave, and Four Years in the White House • Elizabeth Keckley
... requires, above all, maturity of judgment in its leaders. It cannot be patronized safely. Nor can it be treated in the classroom manner, as if wisdom were being dispensed to schoolboys. When it has been remiss, it expects to catch unshirted hell for its failings, and though it may smart under a just bawling out, it will feel let down if the commander quibbles. But any officer puts himself on a skid, and impairs ...
— The Armed Forces Officer - Department of the Army Pamphlet 600-2 • U. S. Department of Defense
... and there was a lively scene in the rival car. The men realized that they had been remiss in their duty in sleeping so late, but still they had not the least doubt of their ability to outwit their rivals, for the crew of Car Four was a picked lot who had never yet been beaten ...
— The Circus Boys on the Plains • Edgar B. P. Darlington
... have several amendments which I am constrained to offer to this third section. My State would think me remiss if I did not offer them. I move, first, to insert after the words "State or Territory of the United States," the words "or obstruct, ...
— A Report of the Debates and Proceedings in the Secret Sessions of the Conference Convention • Lucius Eugene Chittenden
... he said. "I gave orders, at your request, Mr Winter, that no strangers were to be admitted. I must see to it that I am obeyed in future. It is surprising, too, that the police are so remiss in such an ...
— The Strange Case of Mortimer Fenley • Louis Tracy
... from this place have reached heaven; all the learned Rishis who have sought religious merit, have from this place and northwards found it; those who have attained a knowledge of the true law, and gained divine wisdom come not from southwards; if you indeed see us remiss and not earnest enough, practising rules not pure, and on that account are not pleased to stay, then we are the ones that ought to go; you can still remain and dwell here; all these different Brahmakarins ever desire to find companions ...
— Sacred Books of the East • Various
... vindicate the dealings of God with man. But take our own case as an example. I, for one, am very clear what I have got out of our experience. I say it with all humility, but I have a clearer view of my duties than ever I had before. It has taught me to be less remiss in saying what I think to be true, less indolent in doing what I feel ...
— A Desert Drama - Being The Tragedy Of The "Korosko" • A. Conan Doyle
... this, conceiving hopes of recovery, he became more careless, remiss, and dead, for some days, and seldom called for the minister (though, he would not suffer him to go home to his flock), which his lady and others perceiving went to the physician, and asked his judgment anent him.——He plainly told them, ...
— Biographia Scoticana (Scots Worthies) • John Howie
... on, you have become one of a Committee of Ways and Means—a committee of two, with power to add to your number. Dan O'Connell, for instance, had negotiated this alternative, and, in the opinion of the barracks, had made his election in a remiss ...
— Such is Life • Joseph Furphy
... sciences, in which respectively they have chiefest use; and certain others, from which respectively they ought to be excluded; and the rigour and curiosity in requiring the more severe proofs in some things, and chiefly the facility in contenting ourselves with the more remiss proofs in others, hath been amongst the greatest causes of detriment and hindrance to knowledge. The distributions and assignations of demonstrations according to the analogy of sciences I note ...
— The Advancement of Learning • Francis Bacon
... know her. If you did, you'd have had her within call. And, as she is the only person who is able to say that Miss Yerba is NOT an Arguello, you have been very remiss." ...
— A Ward of the Golden Gate • Bret Harte
... inform themselves; and upon doubt in that case, to command restraint of access until it appear what the disease shall prove. And if they find any person sick of the infection, to give order to the constable that the house be shut up; and if the constable shall be found remiss or negligent, to give present notice thereof to the ...
— A Journal of the Plague Year • Daniel Defoe
... alluded to the subject. She is very anxious about you, and, having now given her assent to our marriage, is of course desirous of knowing that her kindly feeling is reciprocated. I assured her that my own Clara was the last person to be remiss in such a matter, and reminded her that young ladies are seldom very careful in their mode of answering letters. Remember, therefore, that I am now your guarantee, and send some message to relieve ...
— The Belton Estate • Anthony Trollope
... that he was knocked senseless, and lay as dead. These two events confirmed the Jesuits' power, and things began to flourish in their four new missions. But the Great Power, so careful of the individual effort of His priests, seems to have been most unaccountably remiss of their success considered as a whole. In the same year (1632) the Mamelucos appeared and ruined all the four missions, so that the efforts of the Jesuits and the miracles ...
— A Vanished Arcadia, • R. B. Cunninghame Graham
... remiss in not answering your favor of the 21st ultimo sooner. The removal of the Court from Aranjues to this city, and a bilious disorder which has oppressed me more than a month, and which still afflicts me, have in part, been ...
— The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution, Vol. IX • Various
... burden. The States near the seat of war, influenced by motives of self-preservation, made efforts to furnish their quotas, which even exceeded their abilities; while those at a distance from danger were, for the most part, as remiss as the others were diligent, in their exertions. The immediate pressure of this inequality was not in this case, as in that of the contributions of money, alleviated by the hope of a final liquidation. The States which did not pay their proportions of money might at least be charged with ...
— The Federalist Papers
... the office, where Mr. Coventry very angry to see things go so coldly as they do, and I must needs say it makes me fearful every day of having some change of the office, and the truth is, I am of late a little guilty of being remiss myself of what I used to be, but I hope I shall come to my old pass again, my family being now settled again. Dined at home, and to the office, where late busy in setting all my businesses in order, ...
— Diary of Samuel Pepys, Complete • Samuel Pepys
... them to shun or fly sin, and not to consent to the motions, workings, enticings, or allurements thereof, saying, "I write unto you that ye sin not." Let not forgiveness have so bad an effect upon you as to cause you to be remiss in Christian duties, or as to tempt you to give, way to evil. Shall we sin because we are forgiven? or shall we not much matter what manner of lives we live, because we are set free from the law of sin and death? God forbid. Let grace teach us another lesson, and lay other obligations ...
— The Works of John Bunyan • John Bunyan
... our states have done rather well in wild-life protection,—considering the absurdity of our national policy as a whole; others have done indifferently, and some have been and still are very remiss. Here is where we intend to hew to the line, and without fear or favor set forth the standing of each state according to its merits or its lack of merits. In a life-or-death matter such as now confronts us regarding the wild life of our country, it ...
— Our Vanishing Wild Life - Its Extermination and Preservation • William T. Hornaday
... successful rearing of a fine crop of wood; but that within the last 30 years these elections had been neglected, the Courts discontinued, and offenders left unpunished; the Officers of Inheritance had grown remiss and negligent, so that some enclosures, and those of only a few acres of the 11,000, were kept up, and these not carefully repaired; a great number of cottages were erected upon the borders of the Forest, the inhabitants ...
— The Forest of Dean - An Historical and Descriptive Account • H. G. Nicholls
... information as soon as Lord ALLENBY'S report should be received. Lord ROBERT CECIL, who has lately developed an unlawyer-like tendency to jump to conclusions ahead of the facts, made what sounded distinctly like a suggestion that the British officers on the spot had been remiss in their duty, and thereby earned from Mr. CHURCHILL a dignified castigation which pleased ...
— Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 158, May 5, 1920 • Various |
