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If A Woman Conceals Her Affection With The Same Skill From The Object Of It, She May Lose The Opportunity Of Fixing Him; And It Will Then Be But Poor Consolation To Believe The World Equally In The Dark. There Is So Much Of Gratitude Or Vanity In Almost Any Attachment, That It Is Not Safe To Leave Any To Itself. We Can All Begin ‘freely’- As Light Preference Is Natural Enough; But There Are Very Few Of Us Who Have A Heart Enough To Be Really In Love Without Encouragement.

-Jane Austen

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If A Woman Conceals

Jane Austen

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If A Woman Conceals Her Affection With The Same Skill From The Object Of It, She May Lose The Opportunity Of Fixing Him; And It Will Then Be But Poor Consolation To Believe The World Equally In The Dark. There Is So Much Of Gratitude Or Vanity In Almost Any Attachment, That It Is Not Safe To Leave Any To Itself. We Can All Begin ‘freely’- As Light Preference Is Natural Enough; But There Are Very Few Of Us Who Have A Heart Enough To Be Really In Love Without Encouragement.

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She Hoped To Be Wise And Reasonable In Time; But Alas! Alas! She Must Confess To Herself That She Was Not Wise Yet.

Elinor Agreed With It All, For She Did Not Think He Deserved The Compliment Of Rational Opposition.

Whatever Bears Affinity To Cunning Is Despicable.

When Any Two Young People Take It Into Their Heads To Marry, They Are Pretty Sure By Perseverance To Carry Their Point, Be They Ever So Poor, Or Ever So Imprudent, Or Ever So Little Likely To Be Necessary To Each Other's Ultimate Comfort.

Sense Will Always Have Attractions For Me.

The Longer They Were Together The More Doubtful Seemed The Nature Of His Regard, And Sometimes For A Few Painful Minutes She Believed It To Be No More Than Friendship

Pride... Is A Very Common Failing, I Believe. By All That I Have Ever Read, I Am Convinced That It Is Very Common Indeed; That Human Nature Is Particularly Prone To It, And That There Are Very Few Of Us Who Do Not Cherish A Feeling Of Self-complacency On The Score Of Some Quality Or The Other, Real Or Imaginary. Vanity And Pride Are Different Things, Though The Words Are Often Used Synonymously. A Person May Be Proud Without Being Vain. Pride Relates More To Our Opinion Of Ourselves, Vanity To What We Would Have Others Think Of Us.

There Is, I Believe, In Every Disposition A Tendency To Some Particular Evil, A Natural Defect, Which Not Even The Best Education Can Overcome." "and Your Defect Is A Propensity To Hate Everybody." "and Yours," He Replied With A Smile, "is Wilfully To Misunderstand Them.

One Word From You Shall Silence Me Forever.

None But A Woman Can Teach The Science Of Herself.

If You Were To Give Me Forty Such Men, I Never Could Be So Happy As You. Till I Have Your Disposition, Your Goodness, I Never Can Have Your Happiness. No, No, Let Me Shift For Myself; And, Perhaps, If I Have Very Good Luck, I May Meet With Another Mr. Collins In Time.

By The Bye, As I Must Leave Off Being Young, I Find Many Douceurs In Being A Sort Of Chaperon , For I Am Put On The Sofa Near The Fire And Can Drink As Much Wine As I Like.

On Every Formal Visit A Child Ought To Be Of The Party, By Way Of Provisions For Discourse.

“it Is Not Everyone,” Said Elinor, “who Has Your Passion For Dead Leaves.”

Provided That Nothing Like Useful Knowledge Could Be Gained From Them, Provided They Were All Story And No Reflection, She Had Never Any Objection To Books At All.

I Might As Well Enquire,” Replied She, “why With So Evident A Design Of Offending And Insulting Me, You Chose To Tell Me That You Liked Me Against Your Will, Against Your Reason, And Even Against Your Character?

Single Women Have A Dreadful Propensity For Being Poor. Which Is One Very Strong Argument In Favor Of Matrimony.

Business, You Know, May Bring You Money, But Friendship Hardly Ever Does.

It Has Been Coming On So Gradually, That I Hardly Know When It Began. But I Believe I Must Date It From My First Seeing His Beautiful Grounds At Pemberley.

'my Fingers,' Said Elizabeth, 'do Not Move Over This Instrument In The Masterly Manner Which I See So Many Woman's Do. They Have Not The Same Force Of Rapidity And Do Not Possess The Same Expression. But Then I Have Always Supposed It To Be My Own Fault - Because I Would Not Take The Trouble Of Practicing. It Is Not That I Do Not Believe My Fingers As Capable As Any Other Woman's Of Superior Execution.' Darcy Smiled And Said, 'you Are Perfectly Right.'

You Must Really Begin To Harden Yourself To The Idea Of Being Worth Looking At.

My Good Qualities Are Under Your Protection, And You Are To Exaggerate Them As Much As Possible; And, In Return, It Belongs To Me To Find Occasion For Teasing And Quarreling With You As Often As May Be.

There Is Something In The Eloquence Of The Pulpit, When It Is Really Eloquence, Which Is Entitled To The Highest Praise And Honour. The Preacher Who Can Touch And Affect Such An Heterogeneous Mass Of Hearers, On Subjects Limited, And Long Worn Thread-bare In All Common Hands; Who Can Say Any Thing New Or Striking, Any Thing That Rouses The Attention, Without Offending The Taste, Or Wearing Out The Feelings Of His Hearers, Is A Man Whom One Could Not (in His Public Capacity) Honour Enough.

I Can Recollect Nothing More To Say At Present; Perhaps Breakfast May Assist My Ideas. I Was Deceived -- My Breakfast Supplied Only Two Ideas -- That The Rolls Were Good And The Butter Bad.

Half The Sum Of Attraction, On Either Side, Might Have Been Enough, For He Had Nothing To Do, And She Had Hardly Any Body To Love." (of Anne Elliot And Captain Wentworth, Persuasion)

One Half Of Her Should Not Be Always So Much Wiser Than The Other Half.

Nobody Can Tell What I Suffer! But It Is Always So. Those Who Do Not Complain Are Never Pitied.

What Are You Thinking Of So Earnestly?" Said He, As They Walked Back To The Ballroom; "not Of Your Partner, I Hope, For, By That Shake Of The Head, Your Meditations Are Not Satisfactory." Catherine Coloured, And Said, "i Was Not Thinking Of Anything." That Is Artful And Deep, To Be Sure; But I Had Rather Be Told At Once That You Will Not Tell Me." Well Then, I Will Not." Thank You; For Now We Shall Soon Be Acquainted, As I Am Authorized To Tease You On This Subject Whenever We Meet, And Nothing In The World Advances Intimacy So Much.

The Worst Crimes; Are The Crimes Of The Heart

She Wished Such Words Unsaid With All Her Heart

I Cannot Think Well Of A Man Who Sports With Any Woman's Feelings; And There May Often Be A Great Deal More Suffered Than A Stander-by Can Judge Of.

I Do Not Find It Easy To Talk To People I Don't Know.

I Never Could Be So Happy As You. Till I Have Your Disposition, Your Goodness, I Never Can Have Your Happiness.

All The World Is Good And Agreeable In Your Eyes.

I Am Rather Impatient To Know The Fate Of My Best Gown.

Another Stupid Party . . . With Six People To Look On, And Talk Nonsense To Each Other.

It Is Indolence... Indolence And Love Of Ease; A Want Of All Laudable Ambition, Of Taste For Good Company, Or Of Inclination To Take The Trouble Of Being Agreeable, Which Make Men Clergymen. A Clergyman Has Nothing To Do But Be Slovenly And Selfish; Read The Newspaper, Watch The Weather, And Quarrel With His Wife. His Curate Does All The Work And The Business Of His Own Life Is To Dine.

You Are Mistaken, Mr. Darcy, If You Suppose That The Mode Of Your Declaration Affected Me In Any Other Way, Than As It Spared The Concern Which I Might Have Felt In Refusing You, Had You Behaved In A More Gentlemanlike Manner.

An Interval Of Meditation, Serious And Grateful, Was The Best Corrective Of Everything Dangerous In Such A High-wrought Felicity; And She Went To Her Room, And Grew Steadfast And Fearless In The Thankfulness Of Her Enjoyment.

No: The Years Which Had Destroyed Her Youth And Bloom Had Only Given Him A More Glowing, Manly, Open Look, In No Respect Lessening His Personal Advantages. She Had Seen The Same Frederick Wentworth.

You Either Choose This Method Of Passing The Evening Because You Are In Each Other's Confidence, And Have Secret Affairs To Discuss, Or Because You Are Conscious That Your Figures Appear To The Greatest Advantage In Walking;— If The First, I Should Be Completely In Your Way, And If The Second, I Can Admire You Much Better As I Sit By The Fire.

You Pierce My Soul. I Am Half Agony, Half Hope...i Have Loved None But You.

May I Ask You What These Questions Tend?' 'merely To The Illustration Of Your Character,' Said She, Endeavouring To Shake Off Her Gravity. 'i Am Trying To Make It Out.' 'and What Is Your Success?' She Shook Her Head. 'i Do Not Get On At All. I Hear Such Different Accounts Of You As Puzzle Me Exceedingly.

I Am Certainly The Most Fortunate Creature That Ever Existed!

Those Who Have Not More Must Be Satisfied With What They Have.

She Went, However, And They Sauntered About Together Many A Half Hour In Mr. Grant's Shrubbery, The Weather Being Unusually Mild For The Time Of Year, And Venturing Sometimes Even To Sit Down On One Of The Benches Now Comparatively Unsheltered, Remaining There Perhaps Till, In The Midst Of Some Tender Ejaculation Of Fanny's On The Sweets Of So Protracted An Autumn, They Were Forced By The Sudden Swell Of A Cold Gust Shaking Down The Last Few Yellow Leaves About Them, To Jump Up And Walk For Warmth.

We Must Consider What Miss. Fairfax Quits, Before We Condemn Her Taste For What She Goes To.

Men Were Put Into The World To Teach Women The Law Of Compromise.

Run Mad As Often As You Choose, But Do Not Faint!

One Has Not Great Hopes From Birmingham. I Always Say There Is Something Direful In The Sound.

But To Live In Ignorance On Such A Point Was Impossible.

I Cannot Comprehend The Neglect Of A Family Library In Such Days As These." - Mr. Darcy

Thus Much Indeed He Was Obliged To Acknowledge - That He Had Been Constant Unconsciously, Nay Unintentionally; That He Had Meant To Forget Her, And Believed It To Be Done. He Had Imagined Himself Indifferent, When He Had Only Been Angry; And He Had Been Unjust To Her Merits, Because He Had Been A Sufferer From Them.

Where A Man Does His Best With Only Moderate Powers, He Will Have The Advantage Over Negligent Superiority.

General Benevolence, But Not General Friendship, Made A Man What He Ought To Be.

Lost Friendship

How Hard It Is In Some Cases To Be Believed!' 'and How Impossible In Others!

A Man Would Always Wish To Give A Woman A Better Home Than The One He Takes Her From; And He Who Can Do It, Where There Is No Doubt Of Her Regard, Must, I Think, Be The Happiest Of Mortals.

I Begin Already To Weigh My Words And Sentences More Than I Did, And Am Looking About For A Sentiment, An Illustration, Or A Metaphor In Every Corner Of The Room. Could My Ideas Flow As Fast As The Rain In The Storecloset It Would Be Charming.

To Look Almost Pretty Is An Acquisition Of Higher Delight To A Girl Who Has Been Looking Plain For The First Fifteen Years Of Her Life Than A Beauty From Her Cradle Can Ever Receive.

It Is A Shocking Trick For A Young Person To Be Always Lolling Upon A Sofa.

You Pierce My Soul. I Am Half Agony, Half Hope. Tell Me Not That I Am Too Late, That Such Precious Feelings Are Gone For Ever.

The Memory Is Sometimes So Retentive, So Serviceable, So Obedient-at Others So Bewildered And Weak-and At Others Again, So Tyrannic, So Beyond Control!

One Man's Style Must Not Be The Rule Of Another's.

There Could Have Been No Two Hearts So Open, No Tastes So Similar, No Feelings So In Unison

It Is Always Incomprehensible To A Man That A Woman Should Ever Refuse An Offer Of Marriage.

Unjust I May Have Been, Weak And Resentful I Have Been, But Never Inconstant.

Surprises Are Foolish Things. The Pleasure Is Not Enhanced, And The Inconvenience Is Often Considerable.

Pleasant Surprises

My Courage Always Rises With Every Attempt To Intimidate Me.

Vanity Was The Beginning And The End Of Sir Walter Elliot's Character; Vanity Of Person And Of Situation. He Had Been Remarkably Handsome In His Youth; And, At Fifty-four, Was Still A Very Fine Man. Few Women Could Think More Of Their Personal Appearance Than He Did, Nor Could The Valet Of Any New Made Lord Be More Delighted With The Place He Held In Society. He Considered The Blessing Of Beauty As Inferior Only To The Blessing Of A Baronetcy; And The Sir Walter Elliott, Who United These Gifts, Was The Constant Object Of His Warmest Respect And Devotion.

In Vain Have I Struggled. It Will Not Do. My Feelings Will Not Be Repressed. You Must Allow Me To Tell You How Ardently I Admire And Love You.

Funny Relationship

She Was Stronger Alone; And Her Own Good Sense So Well Supported Her, That Her Firmness Was As Unshaken, Her Appearance Of Cheerfulness As Invariable, As, With Regrets So Poignant And So Fresh, It Was Possible For Them To Be.

Know Your Own Happiness. You Want Nothing But Patience- Or Give It A More Fascinating Name, Call It Hope.

I Do Not Think It Worth While To Wait For Enjoyment Until There Is Some Real Opportunity For It.

Do You Dance, Mr. Darcy?" Darcy: "not If I Can Help It!" Sir William: "what A Charming Amusement For Young People This Is, Mr. Darcy! There Is Nothing Like Dancing, After All. I Consider It As One Of The First Refinements Of Polished Societies." Mr. Darcy: "certainly, Sir; And It Has The Advantage Also Of Being In Vogue Amongst The Less Polished Societies Of The World; Every Savage Can Dance.

Every Young Lady May Feel For My Heroine In This Critical Moment, For Every Young Lady Has At Some Time Or Other Known The Same Agitation.

Critical Moments

...when Pain Is Over, The Remembrance Of It Often Becomes A Pleasure.

I Am Not Fond Of The Idea Of My Shrubberies Being Always Approachable.

And You Are Never To Stir Out Of Doors Till You Can Prove That You Have Spent Ten Minutes Of Every Day In A Rational Manner.

A Person Who Can Write A Long Letter With Ease, Cannot Write Ill.

Nobody Could Catch Cold By The Sea; Nobody Wanted Appetite By The Sea; Nobody Wanted Spirits; Nobody Wanted Strength. Sea Air Was Healing, Softening, Relaxing - Fortifying And Bracing - Seemingly Just As Was Wanted - Sometimes One, Sometimes The Other. If The Sea Breeze Failed, The Seabath Was The Certain Corrective; And Where Bathing Disagreed, The Sea Air Alone Was Evidently Designed By Nature For The Cure.

Yes, You Know Enough Of My Frankness To Believe Me Capable Of That. After Abusing You So Abominably To Your Face, I Could Have No Scruple In Abusing You To All Your Relations.

Sometimes One Is Guided By What They Say Of Themselves, And Very Frequently By What Other People Say Of Them, Without Giving Oneself Time To Deliberate And Judge." -elinor Dashwood

You May Only Call Me "mrs. Darcy"... When You Are Completely, And Perfectly, And Incandescently Happy.

I Have Now Attained The True Art Of Letter-writing, Which We Are Always Told, Is To Express On Paper Exactly What One Would Say To The Same Person By Word Of Mouth.

Nothing Is More Deceitful Than The Appearance Of Humility.

It Is Wonderful, For Almost All His Actions May Be Traced To Pride;-and Pride Has Often Been His Best Friend.

A Persuadable Temper Might Sometimes Be As Much In Favour Of Happiness As A Very Resolute Character.

Time Will Generally Lessen The Interest Of Every Attachment Not Within The Daily Circle.

In A Letter From Bath To Her Sister, Cassandra, One Senses Her Frustration At Her Sheltered Existence, Tuesday, 12 May 1801. Another Stupid Party . . . With Six People To Look On, And Talk Nonsense To Each Other.

I Have Read Your Book, And I Disapprove.

Everybody Has Their Taste In Noises As Well As In Other Matters.

It Is Very Difficult For The Prosperous To Be Humble.

Always Resignation And Acceptance. Always Prudence And Honour And Duty. Elinor, Where Is Your Heart?

She Is Loveliness Itself.

Perhaps It Is Our Imperfections That Make Us So Perfect For One Another.

I Am Sure Of This, That If Everybody Was To Drink Their Bottle A Day, There Would Be Not Half The Disorders In The World There Are Now. It Would Be A Famous Good Thing For Us All.

Reflection Must Be Reserved For Solitary Hours; Whenever She Was Alone, She Gave Way To It As The Greatest Relief; And Not A Day Went By Without A Solitary Walk, In Which She Might Indulge In All The Delight Of Unpleasant Recollections.

To Be So Bent On Marriage - To Pursue A Man Merely For The Sake Of Situation - Is A Sort Of Thing That Shocks Me; I Cannot Understand It. Poverty Is A Great Evil, But To A Woman Of Education And Feeling It Ought Not, It Cannot Be The Greatest. I Would Rather Be A Teacher At A School (and I Can Think Of Nothing Worse) Than Marry A Man I Did Not Like.

There Are Certainly Not So Many Men Of Large Fortune In The World, As There Are Pretty Women To Deserve Them.

Her Eye Fell Everywhere On Lawns And Plantations Of The Freshest Green; And The Trees, Though Not Fully Clothed, Were In That Delightful State When Farther Beauty Is Known To Be At Hand, And When, While Much Is Actually Given To The Sight, More Yet Remains For The Imagination.

She Was Convinced That She Could Have Been Happy With Him, When It Was No Longer Likely They Should Meet.

Money Can Only Give Happiness Where There Is Nothing Else To Give It.

And Pictures Of Perfection, As You Know, Make Me Sick And Wicked.

A Woman Of Seven And Twenty, Said Marianne, After Pausing A Moment, Can Never Hope To Feel Or Inspire Affection Again.

Nothing Ever Fatigues Me, But Doing What I Do Not Like.

I Certainly Must,' Said She. 'this Sensation Of Listlessness, Weariness, Stupidity, This Disinclination To Sit Down And Employ Myself, This Feeling Of Everything's Being Dull And Insipid About The House! I Must Be In Love; I Should Be The Oddest Creature In The World If I Were Not.

Her Form, Though Not So Correct As Her Sister's, In Having The Advantage Of Height, Was More Striking; And Her Face Was So Lovely, That When In The Common Cant Of Praise She Was Called A Beautiful Girl, Truth Was Less Violently Outraged Than Usually Happens.

There Could Have Never Been Two Hearts So Open, No Tastes So Similar, No Feelings So In Unison, No Countenances So Beloved. Now They Were As Strangers; Nay, Worse Than Strangers, For They Could Never Become Acquainted. It Was A Perpetual Estrangement.

Then It Would Not Be So Strong A Sense. If It Failed To Produce Equal Exertion, It Could Not Be An Equal Conviction.

Sitting With Her On Sunday Evening - A Wet Sunday Evening - The Very Time Of All Others When If A Friend Is At Hand The Heart Must Be Opened, And Every Thing Told.

Now Be Sincere; Did You Admire Me For My Impertinence?" "for The Liveliness Of Your Mind, I Did.

Lovely & Too Charming Fair One, Notwithstanding Your Forbidding Squint, Your Greazy Tresses & Your Swelling Back, Which Are More Frightful Than Imagination Can Paint Or Pen Describe, I Cannot Refrain From Expressing My Raptures, At The Engaging Qualities Of Your Mind, Which So Amply Atone For The Horror, With Which Your First Appearance Must Ever Inspire The Unwary Visitor.

But There Was Happiness Elsewhere Which No Description Can Reach.

I Do Suspect That He Is Not Really Necessary To My Happiness.

I Have Changed My Mind, And Changed The Trimmings Of My Cap This Morning; They Are Now Such As You Suggested.

I Do Assure You, Sir, That I Have No Pretension Whatever Of That Kind Of Elegance Which Consists In Tormenting A Respectable Man. I Would Rather Be Paid The Compliment Of Being Believed Sincere. I Thank You Again And Again For The Honour You Have Done Me In Your Proposals, But To Accept Them Is Absolutely Impossible. My Feelings In Every Respect Forbid It. Can I Speak Plainer? Do Not Consider Me Now As An Elegant Female Intending To Plague You, But As A Rational Creature Speaking The Truth From Her Heart.

I Am Now Convinced That I Have Never Been Much In Love; For Had I Really Experienced That Pure And Elevating Passion, I Should At Present Detest His Very Name, And Wish Him All Manner Of Evil. But My Feelings Are Not Only Cordial Towards Him; They Are Even Impartial Towards Her. I Cannot Find Out That I Hate Her At All, Or That I Am In The Least Unwilling To Think Her A Very Good Sort Of Girl. There Can Be No Love In All This.

Cold-hearted Elinor! Oh! Worse Than Cold-hearted! Ashamed Of Being Otherwise.--marianne Dashwood

Do Not Give Way To Useless Alarm; Though It Is Right To Be Prepared For The Worst, There Is No Occasion To Look On It As Certain.

But To Appear Happy When I Am So Miserable — Oh! Who Can Require It?

The Post Office Has A Great Charm At One Point Of Our Lives. When You Have Lived To My Age, You Will Begin To Think Letters Are Never Worth Going Through The Rain For.

If This Man Had Not Twelve Thousand A Year, He Would Be A Very Stupid Fellow.

But Catherine Did Not Know Her Own Advantages - Did Not Know That A Good-looking Girl, With An Affectionate Heart And A Very Ignorant Mind, Cannot Fail Of Attracting A Clever Young Man, Unless Circumstances Are Particularly Untoward.

Women Are The Only Correspondents To Be Depended On.

It Is The Misfortune Of Poetry, To Be Seldom Safely Enjoyed By Those Who Enjoy It Completely.

That You Seemed Almost As Fearful Of Notice And Praise As Other Women Were Of Neglect. (edmund To Fanny)

Nothing Is More Deceitful Than The Appearance Of Humility. It Is Often Only Carelessness Of Opinion, And Sometimes An Indirect Boast.

Stupid Men Are The Only Ones Worth Knowing After All.

Dear Diary, Today I Tried Not To Think About Mr. Knightly. I Tried Not To Think About Him When I Discussed The Menu With Cook... I Tried Not To Think About Him In The Garden Where I Thrice Plucked The Petals Off A Daisy To Ascertain His Feelings For Harriet. I Don't Think We Should Keep Daisies In The Garden, They Really Are A Drab Little Flower. And I Tried Not To Think About Him When I Went To Bed, But Something Had To Be Done.

It Does Not Appear To Me That My Hand Is Unworthy Your Acceptance, Or That The Establishment I Can Offer Would Be Any Other Than Highly Desirable.

Mr. Bennet's Expectations Were Fully Answered. His Cousin Was As Absurd As He Had Hoped, And He Listened To Him With The Keenest Enjoyment.

No One Who Had Ever Seen Catherine Morland In Her Infancy, Would Have Supposed Her Born To Be A Heroine... But From Fifteen To Seventeen She Was In Training For A Heroine.

At My Time Of Life Opinions Are Tolerably Fixed. It Is Not Likely That I Should Now See Or Hear Anything To Change Them.

He Listened To Her With Silent Attention, And On Her Ceasing To Speak, Rose Directly From His Seat, And After Saying In A Voice Of Emotion, 'to Your Sister I Wish All Imaginable Happiness; To Willoughby, That He May Endeavor To Deserve Her,' Took Leave, And Went Away.

A Lucky Guess Is Never Merely Luck. There Is Always Some Talent In It.

If I Loved You Less, I Might Be Able To Talk About It More.

At First Sight, His Address Is Certainly Not Striking; And His Person Can Hardly Be Called Handsome, Till The Expression Of His Eyes, Which Are Uncommonly Good, And The General Sweetness Of His Countenance, Is Perceived.

You Have Delighted Us Long Enough.

Self-knowledge Is The First Step To Maturity.

There Is One Thing, Emma, Which A Man Can Always Do If He Chooses, And That Is His Duty; Not By Manoeuvring And Finessing, But By Vigour And Resolution. - Mr. Knightley

Elinor Was To Be The Comforter Of Others In Her Own Distresses, No Less Than In Theirs; And All The Comfort That Could Be Given By Assurances Of Her Own Composure Of Mind, And A Very Earnest Vindication Of Edward From Every Charge But Of Imprudence, Was Readily Offered.

My Ideas Flow So Rapidly That I Have Not Time To Express Them──by Which Means My Letters Sometimes Convey No Ideas At All To My Correspondents.

If I Could But Know His Heart, Everything Would Become Easy.

There Is Not One In A Hundred Of Either Sex, Who Is Not Taken In When They Marry. ... It Is, Of All Transactions, The One In Which People Expect Most From Others, And Are Least Honest Themselves.

Here And There, Human Nature May Be Great In Times Of Trial, But Generally Speaking It Is Its Weakness And Not Its Strength That Appears In A Sick Chamber; It Is Selfishness And Impatience Rather Than Generosity And Fortitude, That One Hears Of. There Is So Little Real Friendship In The World! – And Unfortunately' (speaking Low And Tremulously) 'there Are So Many Who Forget To Think Seriously Till It Is Almost Too Late.

…but Then I Am Unlike Other People I Dare Say.

There Is A Monsterous Deal Of Stupid Quizzing, & Common-place Nonsense Talked, But Scarcely Any Wit.

Have You Any Other Objection Than Your Belief Of My Indifference?" - Elizabeth Bennet

We Certainly Do Not Forget You, So Soon As You Forget Us. It Is, Perhaps, Our Fate Rather Than Our Merit. We Cannot Help Ourselves.

One Half Of The World Cannot Understand The Pleasures Of The Other.

Grant Us Peace, Almighty Father, So To Pray As To Deserve To Be Heard.

But Are They All Horrid, Are You Sure They Are All Horrid? [referring To Gothic Novels, Fashionable In England At The Beginning Of The 19th Century, But Frowned Upon In Polite Society.]

It Taught Me To Hope, As I Had Scarcely Ever Allowed Myself To Hope Before.

It Would Be Mortifying To The Feelings Of Many Ladies, Could They Be Made To Understand How Little The Heart Of A Man Is Affected By What Is Costly Or New In Their Attire.

I Would Much Rather Have Been Merry Than Wise.

I Mean To Be Too Rich To Lament Or To Feel Anything Of The Sort. A Large Income Is The Best Recipe For Happiness I Ever Heard Of. It Certainly May Secure All The Myrtle And Turkey Part Of It.

It Isn't What We Say Or Think That Defines Us, But What We Do.

Every Impulse Of Feeling Should Be Guided By Reason; And, In My Opinion, Exertion Should Always Be In Proportion To What Is Required.

One Likes To Hear What Is To Be Going On, To Be Au Fair With The Newest Modes Of Being Trifling And Silly.

I Should Infinitely Prefer A Book.

Give A Girl An Education And Introduce Her Properly Into The World

Further Education

I Am The Happiest Creature In The World. Perhaps Other People Have Said So Before, But Not One With Such Justice. I Am Happier Even Than Jane; She Only Smiles, I Laugh.

The Last Few Hours Were Certainly Very Painful," Replied Anne: "but When Pain Is Over, The Remembrance Of It Often Becomes A Pleasure. One Does Not Love A Place The Less For Having Suffered In It, Unless It Has Been All Suffering, Nothing But Suffering-

Sometimes The Last Person On Earth You Want To Be With Is The One Person You Can't Be Without.

Vanity Was The Beginning And The End Of Sir Walter Elliot's Character; Vanity Of Person And Of Situation.

I Read It [history] A Little As A Duty, But It Tells Me Nothing That Does Not Either Vex Or Weary Me. The Quarrels Of Popes And Kings, With Wars Or Pestilences, In Every Page; The Men All So Good For Nothing, And Hardly Any Women At All — It Is Very Tiresome: And Yet I Often Think It Odd That It Should Be So Dull, For A Great Deal Of It Must Be Invention.

There Are Secrets In All Families.

The Family Of Dashwood Had Long Been Settled In Sussex. Their Estate Was Large, And Their Residence Was At Norland Park, In The Centre Of Their Property, Where, For Many Generations, They Had Lived In So Respectable A Manner As To Engage The General Good Opinion Of Their Surrounding Acquaintance. The Late Owner Of This Estate Was A Single Man, Who Lived To A Very Advanced Age, And Who For Many Years Of His Life, Had A Constant Companion And Housekeeper In His Sister.

I Go Too Long Without Picking Up A Good Book, I Feel Like I've Done Nothing Useful With My Life.

The More I Know Of The World, The More I Am Convinced That I Shall Never See A Man Whom I Can Really Love.

What Are Men To Rocks And Mountains?

I Cannot Fix On The Hour, Or The Spot, Or The Look Or The Words, Which Laid The Foundation. It Is Too Long Ago. I Was In The Middle Before I Knew That I Had Begun.

I Have Made Myself Two Or Three Caps To Wear Of Evenings Since I Came Home, And They Save Me A World Of Torment As To Hair-dressing, Which At Present Gives Me No Trouble Beyond Washing And Brushing, For My Long Hair Is Always Plaited Up Out Of Sight, And My Short Hair Curls Well Enough To Want No Papering.

I Cannot Make Speeches, Emma...if I Loved You Less, I Might Be Able To Talk About It More. But You Know What I Am. You Hear Nothing But Truth From Me. I Have Blamed You, And Lectured You, And You Have Borne It As No Other Woman In England Would Have Borne It.

Wickedness Is Always Wickedness, But Folly Is Not Always Folly.

Oh! Do Not Attack Me With Your Watch. A Watch Is Always Too Fast Or Too Slow. I Cannot Be Dictated To By A Watch.

She Had A Lively, Playful Disposition That Delighted In Anything Ridiculous.

A Family Of Ten Children Will Be Always Called A Fine Family, Where There Are Heads And Arms And Legs Enough For The Number.

Her Family Had Of Late Been Exceedingly Fluctuating. For Many Years Of Her Life She Had Had Two Sons; But The Crime And Annihilation Of Edward A Few Weeks Ago, Had Robbed Her Of One; The Similar Annihilation Of Robert Had Left Her For A Fortnight Without Any; And Now, By The Resurrection Of Edward, She Had One Again.

The Musgroves Had Had The Ill Fortune Of A Very Troublesome, Hopeless Son, And The Good Fortune To Lose Him Before He Reached His Twentieth Year.

None Of Us Want To Be In Calm Waters All Our Lives.

You Ought Certainly To Forgive Them As A Christian, But Never To Admit Them In Your Sight, Or Allow Their Names To Be Mentioned In Your Hearing.

The Advantages Of Natural Folly In A Beautiful Girl Have Been Already Set Forth By The Capital Pen Of A Sister Author; And To Her Treatment Of The Subject I Will Only Add, In Justice To Men, That Though To The Larger And More Trifling Part Of The Sex, Imbecility In Females Is A Great Enhancement Of Their Personal Charms, There Is A Portion Of Them Too Reasonable And Too Well Informed Themselves To Desire Anything More In Woman Than Ignorance

His Cold Politeness, His Ceremonious Grace, Were Worse Than Anything.

I Have Never Yet Found That The Advice Of A Sister Could Prevent A Young Man's Being In Love If He Chose It.

We Neither Of Us Perform To Strangers.

I Should Not Mind Anything At All.

If There Is Any Thing Disagreeable Going On, Men Are Always Sure To Get Out Of It.

One Cannot Be Always Laughing At A Man Without Now And Then Stumbling On Something Witty.

It Is A Truth Universally Acknowledged, That A Single Man In Possession Of A Good Fortune, Must Be In Want Of A Wife.

From The Very Beginning— From The First Moment, I May Almost Say— Of My Acquaintance With You, Your Manners, Impressing Me With The Fullest Belief Of Your Arrogance, Your Conceit, And Your Selfish Disdain Of The Feelings Of Others, Were Such As To Form The Groundwork Of Disapprobation On Which Succeeding Events Have Built So Immovable A Dislike; And I Had Not Known You A Month Before I Felt That You Were The Last Man In The World Whom I Could Ever Be Prevailed On To Marry.

She Felt That She Could So Much More Depend Upon The Sincerity Of Those Who Sometimes Looked Or Said A Careless Or A Hasty Thing, Than Of Those Whose Presence Of Mind Never Varied, Whose Tongue Never Slipped.

Presence Of Mind

Here I Have Opportunity Enough For The Exercise Of My Talent, As The Chief Of My Time Is Spent In Conversation.

If Any One Faculty Of Our Nature May Be Called More Wonderful Than The Rest, I Do Think It Is Memory. There Seems Something More Speakingly Incomprehensible In The Powers, The Failures, The Inequalities Of Memory, Than In Any Other Of Our Intelligences. The Memory Is Sometimes So Retentive, So Serviceable, So Obedient; At Others, So Bewildered And So Weak; And At Others Again, So Tyrannic, So Beyond Control! We Are, To Be Sure, A Miracle Every Way; But Our Powers Of Recollecting And Of Forgetting Do Seem Peculiarly Past Finding Out.

Without Thinking Highly Either Of Men Or Of Matrimony, Marriage Had Always Been Her Object; It Was The Only Honourable Provision For Well-educated Young Women Of Small Fortune, And However Uncertain Of Giving Happiness, Must Be Their Pleasantest Preservative From Want.

What Dreadful Hot Weather We Have! It Keeps One In A Continual State Of Inelegance.

I Have Been A Selfish Being All My Life, In Practice, Though Not In Principle.

A Person Who Is Knowingly Bent On Bad Behavior, Gets Upset When Better Behavior Is Expected Of Them.

The Sooner Every Party Breaks Up The Better.

To Wish Was To Hope, And To Hope Was To Expect

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