Again and again it has been pointed out that their whole thoughts were given to the schemes which usually distract conquered nations.
"The Expositor's Bible: The Gospel of St. John, Vol. I"
Marcus Dods
A lady who was a member of the Marlboro' Association in Ohio, a socialistic experiment that lasted four years and then failed, attributes the failure to "the complicated state of the business concerns, the amount of debt contracted, and the feeling that each would work with more energy, for a time at least, if thrown upon his own resources, with plenty of elbow-room, and nothing to distract his attention."
"Contemporary Socialism"
John Rae
Adolphine passed her hand across her brow, as if to brush away the thoughts that made her sad; she took up her book again, and for a few minutes tried to read; then placed it beside her, saying to herself: It's of no use for me to try to distract my thoughts-I cannot do it.
"Monsieur Cherami"
Charles Paul de Kock