Next minute he was kneeling on the hearth, and pressing the magnum opus, that was to shake Drumtochty, into the heart of the red fire, and he saw, half-smiling and half-weeping, the impressive words, "Semitic environment," shrivel up and disappear.
"Beside the Bonnie Brier Bush"
Ian Maclaren
I expected to have written at least 400 or 500 pages of my magnum opus,-a general treatise on philosophy which has been slowly maturing in my mind,-but I have written only 32 pages!
"The Letters of William James, Vol. II"
William James
"A magnum-to get a couple of glasses out of it; like an otter taking a single bite from a salmon's shoulder.
"Prince Fortunatus"
William Black