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But, God Knows Best, I Concluded.

-Anne Bronte

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But, God Knows Best,

Anne Bronte

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But, God Knows Best, I Concluded.

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Is It That They Think It A Duty To Be Continually Talking,' Pursued She: 'and So Never Pause To Think, But Fill Up With Aimless Trifles And Vain Repetitions When Subjects Of Real Interest Fail To Present Themselves? - Or Do They Really Take A Pleasure In Such Discourse?' 'very Likely They Do,' Said I; 'their Shallow Minds Can Hold No Great Ideas, And Their Light Heads Are Carried Away By Trivialities That Would Not Move A Better-furnished Skull; - And Their Only Alternative To Such Discourse Is To Plunge Over Head And Ears Into The Slough Of Scandal - Which Is Their Chief Delight.

You May Think It All Very Fine, Mr. Huntingdon, To Amuse Yourself With Rousing My Jealousy; But Take Care You Don't Rouse My Hate Instead. And When You Have Once Extinguished My Love, You Will Find It No Easy Matter To Kindle It Again.

And Why Should He Interest Himself At All In My Moral And Intellectual Capacities: What Is It To Him What I Think And Feel?' I Asked Myself. And My Heart Throbbed In Answer To The Question.

Adieu! But Let Me Cherish, Still, The Hope With Which I Cannot Part. Contempt May Wound, And Coldness Chill, But Still It Lingers In My Heart. And Who Can Tell But Heaven, At Last, May Answer All My Thousand Prayers, And Bid The Future Pay The Past With Joy For Anguish, Smiles For Tears?

Well, But You Affirm That Virtue Is Only Elicited By Temptation; - And You Think That A Woman Cannot Be Too Little Exposed To Temptation, Or Too Little Acquainted With Vice, Or Anything Connected Therewith - It Must Be, Either, That You Think She Is Essentially So Vicious, Or So Feeble-minded That She Cannot Withstand Temptation, - And Though She May Be Pure And Innocent As Long As She Is Kept In Ignorance And Restraint, Yet, Being Destitute Of Real Virtue, To Teach Her How To Sin Is At Once To Make Her A Sinner.

You Might As Well Sell Yourself To Slavery At Once, As Marry Man You Dislike.

If The Generous Ideas Of Youth Are Too Often Over- Clouded By The Sordid Views Of After-life, That Scarcely Proves Them To Be False

She Left Me, Offended At My Want Of Sympathy, And Thinking, No Doubt, That I Envied Her. I Did Not - At Least, I Firmly Believed I Did Not.

Farewell To Thee! But Not Farewell To All My Fondest Thoughts Of Thee; Within My Heart They Still Shall Dwell And They Shall Cheer And Comfort Me.

He Had Not Breathed A Word Of Love, Or Dropped One Hint Of Tenderness Or Affection, And Yet I Had Been Supremely Happy. To Be Near Him, To Hear Him Talk As He Did Talk, And To Feel That He Thought Me Worthy To Be So Spoken To - Capable Of Understanding And Duly Appreciating Such Discourse - Was Enough.

The Bud, Though Plucked, Would Not Be Withered, Only Transplanted To A Fitter Soil To Ripen And Blow Beneath A Brighter Sun; And Though I Might Not Cherish And Watch My Child's Unfolding Intellect, He Would Be Snatched Away From All The Suffering And Sins Of Earth; And My Understanding Tells Me This Would Be No Great Evil; But My Heart Shrinks From The Contemplation Of Such A Possibility, And Whispers I Could Not Bear To See Him Die.

No Generous Mind Delights To Oppress The Weak, But Rather To Cherish And Protect.

You Will Form A Very Inadequate Estimate Of A Man's Character, If You Judge By What A Fond Sister Says Of Him. The Worst Of Them Generally Know How To Hide Their Misdeeds From Their Sisters' Eyes, And Their Mother's, Too.

How Odd It Is That We So Often Weep For Each Other's Distresses, When We Shed Not A Tear For Our Own!

If We Can Only Speak To Slander Our Betters, Let Us Hold Our Tongues.

A Man Must Have Something To Grumble About; And If He Cant Complain That His Wife Harries Him To Death With Her Perversity And Ill-humour, He Must Complain That She Wears Him Out With Her Kindness And Gentleness.

Because The Road Is Rough And Long, Should We Despise The Skylark's Song?

Preserve Me From Such Cordiality! It Is Like Handling Briar-roses And May-blossoms - Bright Enough To The Eye, And Outwardly Soft To The Touch, But You Know There Are Thorns Beneath, And Every Now And Then You Feel Them Too; And Perhaps Resent The Injury By Crushing Them In Till You Have Destroyed Their Power, Though Somewhat To The Detriment Of Your Own Fingers.

There Is Always A But In This Imperfect World.

Imperfect World

A Perfect World

What A Fool You Must Be," Said My Head To My Heart, Or My Sterner To My Softer Self.

To Regret The Exchange Of Earthly Pleasures For The Joys Of Heaven, Is As If The Grovelling Caterpillar Should Lament That It Must One Day Quit The Nibbled Leaf To Soar Aloft And Flutter Through The Air, Roving At Will From Flower To Flower, Sipping Sweet Honey From Their Cups, Or Basking In Their Sunny Petals.

All Our Talents Increase In The Using, And Every Faculty, Both Good And Bad, Strengthens By Exercise.

But, God Knows Best, I Concluded.

Because I Imagine There Must Be Only A Very, Very Few Men In The World, That I Should Like To Marry; And Of Those Few, It Is Ten To One I May Never Be Acquainted With One; Or If I Should, It Is Twenty To One He May Not Happen To Be Single, Or To Take A Fancy To Me.

It Is Better To Arm And Strengthen Your Hero, Than To Disarm And Enfeeble Your Foe.

But He That Dares Not Grasp The Thorn Should Never Crave The Rose.

There Is Perfect Love In Heaven!

I Began This Book With The Intention Of Concealing Nothing, That Those Who Liked Might Have The Benefit Of Perusing A Fellow Creature's Heart: But We Have Some Thoughts That All The Angels In Heaven Are Welcome To Behold -- But Not Our Brother-men -- Not Even The Best And Kindest Amongst Them.

Our Children, Edward, Agnes, And Little Mary, Promise Well; Their Education, For The Time Being, Is Chiefly Committed To Me; And They Shall Want No Good Thing That A Mother's Care Can Give. Our Modest Income Is Amply Sufficient For Our Requirements; And By Practising The Economy We Learnt In Harder Times, And Never Attempting To Imitate Our Richer Neighbours, We Manage Not Only To Enjoy Comfort And Contentment Ourselves, But To Have Every Year Something To Lay By For Our Children, And Something To Give To Those Who Need It. And Now I Think I Have Said Sufficient.

He Never Could Have Loved Me, Or He Would Not Have Resigned Me So Willingly

I Was Not Really Angry: I Felt For Him All The Time, And Longed To Be Reconciled; But I Determined He Should Make The First Advances, Or At Least Show Some Signs Of An Humble And Contrite Spirit, First; For, If I Began, It Would Only Minister To His Self-conceit, Increase His Arrogance, And Quite Destroy The Lesson I Wanted To Give Him.

[preface To Second Edition:] ... I Am Satisfied That If A Book Is A Good One, It Is So Whatever The Sex Of The Author May Be.

The Ties That Bind Us To Life Are Tougher Than You Imagine, Or Than Any One Can Who Has Not Felt How Roughly They May Be Pulled Without Breaking.

It Is Painful To Doubt The Sincerity Of Those We Love.

But As The Priceless Treasure Too Frequently Hides At The Bottom Of Well, It Needs Some Courage To Dive For It, Especially As He That Does So Will Be Likely To Incur More Scorn And Obloquy For The Mud And Water Into Which He Has Ventured To Plunge, Than Thanks For The Jewel He Procures; As Like In Manner, She Who Undertakes The Cleansing Of A Careless Bachelor's Apartment Will Be Liable To More Abuse For The Dust She Raises Than Commendation For The Clearance She Effects.

The Best Compliment To A Mother Is To Appreciate Her Little One.

Keep Guard Over Your Eyes And Ears As The Inlets Of Your Heart, And Over Your Lips As The Outlets, Lest They Betray You In A Moment Of Unwariness.

There Are Great Books In This World And Great Worlds In Books.

If You Would Have A Boy To Despise His Mother, Let Her Keep Him At Home, And Spend Her Life In Petting Him Up, And Slaving To Indulge His Follies And Caprices.

You Cannot Expect Stone To Be As Pliable As Clay.

I See That A Man Cannot Give Himself Up To Drinking Without Being Miserable One Half His Days And Mad The Other.

I Would Not Send A Poor Girl Into The World, Ignorant Of The Snares That Beset Her Path; Nor Would I Watch And Guard Her, Till, Deprived Of Self-respect And Self-reliance, She Lost The Power Or The Will To Watch And Guard Herself .

Chess-players Are So Unsociable, They Are No Company For Any But Themselves.

I Possess The Faculty Of Enjoying The Company Of Those I - Of My Friends As Well In Silence As In Conversation.

You Need Not Fear Me, For I Not Only Should Think It Wrong To Marry A Man That Was Deficient In Sense Or In Principle, But I Should Never Be Tempted To Do It; For I Could Not Like Him, If He Were Ever So Handsome, And Ever So Charming, In Other Respects; I Should Hate Him—despise Him—pity Him—anything But Love Him. My Affections Not Only Ought To Be Founded On Approbation, But They Will And Must Be So: For, Without Approving, I Cannot Love. It Is Needless To Say, I Ought To Be Able To Respect And Honour The Man I Marry, As Well As Love Him, For I Cannot Love Him Without.

There's Nothing Like Active Employment, I Suppose, To Console The Afflicted.

I’ll Promise To Think Twice Before I Take Any Important Step You Seriously Disapprove Of.

The Brightest Attractions To The Lover Too Often Prove The Husband's Greatest Torments

Then, You Must Fall Each Into Your Proper Place. You'll Do Your Business, And She, If She's Worthy Of You, Will Do Hers; But It's Your Business To Please Yourself, And Hers To Please You.

Oh, I Am Very Weary, Though Tears No Longer Flow; My Eyes Are Tired Of Weeping, My Heart Is Sick Of Woe.

To Wheedle And Coax Is Safer Than To Command.

A Light Wind Swept Over The Corn, And All Nature Laughed In The Sunshine.

And Then, The Unspeakable Purity - And Freshness Of The Air! There Was Just Enough Heat To Enhance The Value Of The Breeze, And Just Enough Wind To Keep The Whole Sea In Motion, To Make The Waves Come Bounding To The Shore, Foaming And Sparkling, As If Wild With Glee.

Beauty Is That Quality Which, Next To Money, Is Generally The Most Attractive To The Worst Kinds Of Men; And, Therefore, It Is Likely To Entail A Great Deal Of Trouble On The Possessor.

My Cup Of Sweets Is Not Unmingled: It Is Dashed With A Bitterness That I Cannot Hide From Myself, Disguise It As I Will.

No; For Instead Of Delivering Myself Up To The Full Enjoyment Of The As Others Do, I Am Always Troubling My Head About How I Could Produce The Same Effect Upon Canvas; And As That Can Never Be Done, It Is Mere Vanity And Vexation Of Spirit.

What The World Stigmatizes As Romantic Is Often More Nearly Allied To The Truth Than Is Commonly Supposed.

His Heart Was Like A Sensitive Plant, That Opens For A Moment In The Sunshine, But Curls Up And Shrinks Into Itself At The Slightest Touch Of The Finger, Or The Lightest Breath Of Wind.

A Little Girl Loves Her Bird--why? Because It Lives And Feels; Because It Is Helpless And Harmless? A Toad, Likewise, Lives And Feels, And Is Equally Helpless And Harmless; But Though She Would Not Hurt A Toad, She Cannot Love It Like The Bird, With Its Graceful Form, Soft Feathers, And Bright, Speaking Eyes.

Forgetfulness Is Not To Be Purchased With A Wish; And I Cannot Bestow My Esteem On All Who Desire It, Unless They Deserve It Too.

The End Of Religion Is Not To Teach Us How To Die, But How To Live.

It Is Foolish To Wish For Beauty. Sensible People Never Either Desire It For Themselves Or Care About It In Others. If The Mind Be But Well Cultivated, And The Heart Well Disposed, No One Ever Cares For The Exterior.

Intimate Acquaintance Must Precede Real Friendship

Increase Of Love Brings Increase Of Happiness, When It Is Mutual, And Pure As That Will Be.

When A Lady Condescends To Apologise, There Is No Keeping One’s Anger.

A Girl's Affections Should Never Be Won Unsought.

He Is Very Fond Of Me, Almost Too Fond. I Could Do With Less Caressing And More Rationality. I Should Like To Be Less Of A Pet And More Of A Friend, If I Might Choose; But I Won't Complain Of That: I Am Only Afraid His Affection Loses In Depth Where It Gains In Ardour. I Sometimes Liken It To A Fire Of Dry Twigs And Branches Compared With One Of Solid Coal, Very Bright And Hot; But If It Should Burn Itself Out And Leave Nothing But Ashes Behind.

Yet, Should Thy Darkest Fears Be True, If Heaven Be So Severe, That Such A Soul As Thine Is Lost, Oh! How Shall I Appear?

No One Can Be Happy In Eternal Solitude.

In Love Affairs, There Is No Mediator Like A Merry, Simple-hearted Child - Ever Ready To Cement Divided Hearts, To Span The Unfriendly Gulf Of Custom, To Melt The Ice Of Cold Reserve, And Overthrow The Separating Walls Of Dread Formality And Pride.

To Represent A Bad Thing In Its Least Offensive Light Is, Doubtless, The Most Agreeable Course For A Writer Of Fiction To Pursue; But Is It The Most Honest, Or The Safest? Is It Better To Reveal The Snares And Pitfalls Of Like To The Young And Thoughtless Traveller, Or To Cover Them With Branches And Flowers? Oh, Reader! If There Were Less Of This Delicate Concealment Of Facts--this Whispering "peace, Peace," When There Is No Peace, There Would Be Less Of Sin And Misery To The Young Of Both Sexes Who Are Left To Wring Their Bitter Knowledge From Experience.

Are You Hero Enough To Unite Yourself To One Whom You Know To Be Suspected And Despised By All Around You, And Identify Your Interests And Your Honor With Hers?

My Heart Is Too Thoroughly Dried To Be Broken In A Hurry, And I Mean To Live As Long As I Can.

I Cannot Get Him To Write Or Speak In Real, Solid Earnest. I Don't Much Mind It Now, But If It Be Always So, What Shall I Do With The Serious Part Of Myself?

I Cannot Love A Man Who Cannot Protect Me.

I May Be Permitted, Like The Doctors, To Cure A Greater Evil By A Less, For I Shall Not Fall Seriously In Love With The Young Widow, I Think, Nor She With Me - That's Certain - But If I Find A Little Pleasure In Her Society I May Surely Be Allowed To Seek It; And If The Star Of Her Divinity Be Bright Enough To Dim The Lustre Of Eliza's, So Much The Better, But I Scarcely Can Think It

I Had Been Seasoned By Adversity, And Tutored By Experience, And I Longed To Redeem My Lost Honour In The Eyes Of Those Whose Opinion Was More Than That Of All The World To Me.

No, Thank You, I Don't Mind The Rain,' I Said. I Always Lacked Common Sense When Taken By Surprise.

My Soul Is Awakened, My Spirit Is Soaring And Carried Aloft On The Wings Of The Breeze.

Reading Is My Favourite Occupation, When I Have Leisure For It And Books To Read.

This Paper Will Serve Instead Of A Confidential Friend Into Whose Ear I Might Pour Forth The Overflowings Of My Heart. It Will Not Sympathize With My Distresses, But Then, It Will Not Laugh At Them, And, If I Keep It Close, It Cannot Tell Again; So It Is, Perhaps, The Best Friend I Could Have For The Purpose.

I Am Satisfied That If A Book Is A Good One, It Is So Whatever The Sex Of The Author May Be. All Novels Are Or Should Be, Written For Both Men And Women To Read, And I Am At A Loss To Conceive How A Man Should Permit Himself To Write Anything That Would Be Really Disgraceful To A Woman, Or Why A Woman Should Be Censured For Writing Anything That Would Be Proper And Becoming For A Man.

I Do Believe A Young Lady Can't Be Too Careful Who She Marries.

There Is Such A Thing As Looking Through A Person's Eyes Into The Heart, And Learning More Of The Height, And Breadth, And Depth Of Another's Soul In One Hour Than It Might Take You A Lifetime To Discover, If He Or She Were Not Disposed To Reveal It, Or If You Had Not The Sense To Understand It.

What Business Had I To Think So Much Of One That Never Thought Of Me?

I Am Truly Miserable - More So Than I Like To Acknowledge To Myself. Pride Refuses To Aid Me. It Has Brought Me Into The Scrape, And Will Not Help Me Out Of It.

When I Tell You Not To Marry Without Love, I Do Not Advise You To Marry For Love Alone: There Are Many, Many Other Things To Be Considered. Keep Both Heart And Hand In Your Own Possession, Till You See Good Reason To Part With Them; And If Such An Occasion Should Never Present Itself, Comfort Your Mind With This Reflection, That Though In Single Life Your Joys May Not Be Very Many, Your Sorrows, At Least, Will Not Be More Than You Can Bear. Marriage May Change Your Circumstances For The Better, But, In My Private Opinion, It Is Far More Likely To Produce A Contrary Result.

If Ever I Am A Mother I Will Zealously Strive Against This Crime Of Over- Indulgence. I Can Hardly Give It A Milder Name When I Think Of The Evils It Brings.

If I Hate The Sins, I Love The Sinner, And Would Do Much For His Salvation

All True Histories Contain Instruction; Though, In Some, The Treasure May Be Hard To Find, And When Found, So Trivial In Quantity, That The Dry, Shriveled Kernel Scarcely Compensates For The Trouble Of Cracking The Nut.

I See That A Man Cannot Give Himself Up To Drinking Without Being Miserable One Half His Days And Mad The Other; Besides, I Like To Enjoy My Life At All Sides And Ends, Which Cannot Be Done By One That Suffers Himself To Be The Slave Of A Single Propensity.

If You Would Have Your Son To Walk Honourably Through The World, You Must Not Attempt To Clear The Stones From His Path, But Teach Him To Walk Firmly Over Them - Not Insist Upon Leading Him By The Hand, But Let Him Learn To Go Alone.

I Wished To Tell The Truth, For Truth Always Conveys Its Own Moral To Those Who Are Able To Receive It.

Telling The Truth

Keep Both Heart And Hand In Your Own Possession, Till You See Good Reason To Part With Them.

I Would Rather Have Your Friendship Than The Love Of Any Other Woman In The World.

Thank Heaven, I Am Free And Safe At Last!

God Will Judge Us By Our Own Thoughts And Deeds, Not By What Others Say About Us.

I Love The Silent Hour Of Night, For Blissful Dreams May Then Arise, Revealing To My Charmed Sight What May Not Bless My Waking Eyes.

I Thought Mr. Millward Never Would Cease Telling Us That He Was No Tea-drinker, And That It Was Highly Injurious To Keep Loading The Stomach With Slops To The Exclusion Of More Wholesome Sustenance, And So Give Himself Time To Finish His Fourth Cup.

I Was Sorry For Her; I Was Amazed, Disgusted At Her Heartless Vanity; I Wondered Why So Much Beauty Should Be Given To Those Who Made So Bad A Use Of It, And Denied To Some Who Would Make It A Benefit To Both Themselves And Others. But, God Knows Best, I Concluded. There Are, I Suppose, Some Men As Vain, As Selfish, And As Heartless As She Is, And, Perhaps, Such Women May Be Useful To Punish Them.

Such Humble Talents As God Had Given Me I Will Endeavour To Put To Their Greatest Use; If I Am Able To Amuse, I Will Try To Benefit Too; And When I Fell It My Duty To Speak Unpalatable Truth, With The Help Of God, I Will Speak It, Through It Be To The Prejudice Of My Name And To The Detriment Of My Reader's Immediate Pleasure As Well As My Own.

Life And Hope Must Cease Together.

But Smiles And Tears Are So Alike With Me, They Are Neither Of Them Confined To Any Particular Feelings: I Often Cry When I Am Happy, And Smile When I Am Sad.

I Will Give My Whole Heart And Soul To My Maker If I Can,' I Answered, 'and Not One Atom More Of It To You Than He Allows. What Are You, Sir, That You Should Set Yourself Up As A God, And Presume To Dispute Possession Of My Heart With Him To Whom I Owe All I Have And All I Am, Every Blessing I Ever Did Or Ever Can Enjoy - And Yourself Among The Rest - If You Are A Blessing, Which I Am Half Inclined To Doubt.

It Is A Hard, Embittering Thing To Have One's Kind Feelings And Good Intentions Cast Back In One's Teeth.

Good Intentions

I Still Preserve Those Relics Of Past Sufferings And Experience, Like Pillars Of Witness Set Up In Travelling Through The Valve Of Life, To Mark Particular Occurrences. The Footsteps Are Obliterated Now; The Face Of The Country May Be Changed; But The Pillar Is Still There, To Remind Me How All Things Were When It Was Reared.

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