| 1. | a gadfly to sting the horse, who became so restive that he threw his rider, who was precipitated to the earth. - from Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome by E.M. Berens |
| 2. | Ever fertile in resource, Hera now sent a gadfly to worry and torment the unfortunate Io incessantly, and she wandered all over the world in hopes of escaping from her tormentor. - from Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome by E.M. Berens |
| 3. | Passion for power the wicked gadfly which is mounted on the vainest peoples the scorner of all uncertain virtue which rideth on every horse and on every pride. - from Thus Spake Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche |
| 4. | And also the soul which is under a tyrant I am speaking of the soul taken as a whole is least capable of doing what she desires there is a gadfly which goads her, and she is full of trouble and remors. - from The Republic by Plato |