Jane Austen

“Do not deceive yourself; do not be run away with by gratitude and compassion.”

“You must be the best judge of your own happiness.”

“It was impossible to quarrel with words, whose tremulous inequality showed indisposition so plainly.”

“Every thing was to take its natural course, however, neither impelled nor assisted.”

“Happiness must preclude false indulgence and physic.”

“Where the waters do agree, it is quite wonderful the relief they give.”

“Men never know when things are dirty or not; women will have their little nonsenses and needless cares.”

“I have no pretensions whatever to that kind of elegance which consists in tormenting a respectable man.”

“Heavens! let me not suppose that she dares go about Emma Woodhouse-ing me! But, upon my honour, there seems no limits to the licentiousness of that woman's tongue!”

“...And talking of the dear family party which would then be restored, of their mutual pursuits and cheerful society, as the only happiness worth a wish.”

“I certainly have not the talent which some people possess, of conversing easily with those I have never seen before.”

“But do not be cast down. Such squeamish youths as cannot bear to be connected with a little absurdity are not worth a regret”

“Everything nourishes what is strong already”

“From politics, it was an easy step to silence”

“A fondness for reading, properly directed, must be an education in itself.”

“The Very first moment I beheld him, my heart was irrevocably gone.”

“If there is any thing disagreeable going on, men are always sure to get out of it.”

“Too many cooks spoil the broth”

“She was suddenly roused by the sound of the door-bell, and her spirits were a little fluttered by the idea of its being Colonel Fitzwilliam himself, who had once before called late in the evening, and might now come to inquire particularly after her. But this idea was soon banished, and her spirits were very differently affected, when, to her utter amazement, she saw Mr. Darcy walk into the room. In an hurried manner he immediately began an inquiry after her health, imputing his visit to a wish of hearing that she were better. She answered him with cold civility. He sat down for a few moments, and then getting up, walked about the room. Elizabeth was surprised, but said not a word. After a silence of several minutes, he came towards her in an agitated manner, and thus began:"In vain I have 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.”

“There is nothing like employment, active indispensable employment, for relieving sorrow. Employment, even melancholy, may dispel melancholy.”

“The pleasantness of an employment does not always evince its propriety.-Sense and Sensibility”

“With the Gardiners, they were always on the most intimate terms. Darcy, as well as Elizabeth, really loved them; and they were both ever sensible of the warmest gratitude towards the persons who, by bringing her into Derbyshire, had been the means of uniting them.”

“The pause was to Elizabeth's feelings dreadful. At length, with a voice of forced calmness, he said: "And this is all the reply which I am to have the honour of expecting! I might, perhaps, wish to be informed why, with so little endeavour at civility, I am thus rejected. But it is of small importance.""I might as well inquire," replied she, "why with so evident a desire 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? Was not this some excuse for incivility, if I was uncivil? But I have other provocations. You know I have. Had not my feelings decided against you— had they been indifferent, or had they even been favourable, do you think that any consideration would tempt me to accept the man who has been the means of ruining, perhaps for ever, the happiness of a most beloved sister?”

“Human nature is so well disposed towards those who are in interesting situations, that a young person, who either marries or dies, is sure of being kindly spoken of.”

“His reading has done him no harm, for he has fought as well as read.”

“Were I to fall in love, indeed, it would be a different thing; but I have never been in love ; it is not my way, or my nature; and I do not think I ever shall.”

“He was not an ill-disposed young man, unless to be rather cold hearted, and rather selfish, is to be ill-disposed....”

“Only think of Mrs. Holder's being dead! Poor woman, she has done the only thing in the world she could possibly do to make one cease to abuse her.”

“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.”

“I hate to hear you talk about all women as if they were fine ladies instead of rational creatures. None of us want to be in calm waters all our lives.”

“The power of doing any thing with quickness is always much prized by the possessor, and often without any attention to the imperfection of the performance. - Mr Darcy”

“There is a quickness of perception in some, a nicety in the discernment of character, a natural penetration, in short, which no experience in others can equal...”

“A persuadable temper might sometimes be as much in favor of happiness, as a very resolute character.”

“she thought it was the misfortune of poetry, to be seldom safely enjoyed by those who enjoyed it completely; and that the strong feelings which alone could estimate it truly, were the very feelings which ought to taste it but sparingly.”

“A person who is knowingly bent on bad behavior, gets upset when betterbehavior is expected of them.”

“São poucas as pessoas de quem gosto realmente e mais restrito ainda o número daquelas de quem eu faço um bom juízo.”

“Mas o orgulho, onde quer que haja uma verdadeira superioridade intelectual, o orgulho estará sempre sob uma boa orientação.”

“Os meus sentimentos não se manifestam por dá cá aquela palha. O meu temperamento poderia talvez ser classificado de vingativo. A minha opinião, uma vez perdida, fica perdida para sempre.”

“Vaidade e orgulho são coisas diferentes, embora as palavras sejam frequentemente usadas como sinónimos. (...) O orgulho diz respeito mais à opinião que temos de nós próprios, enquanto a vaidade ao que pretendemos que os outros pensem de nós.”

“O Sr. Bennet era um misto tão extraordinário de petulância, sarcasmo, reserva e capricho que a experiência de vinte e três anos não bastara ainda para a a mulher compreender o seu carácter. ”

“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”

“This is an evening of wonders, indeed!”

“You expect me to account for opinions which you choose to call mine, but which I have never acknowledged.”

“To look almost pretty is an acquisition of higher delight to a girl who has been looking plain the first fifteen years of her life than a beauty from her cradle can ever receive.”

“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.”

“It sometimes happens that a woman is handsomer at twenty-nine than she was ten years before.”

“Had I been in love, I could not have been more wretchedly blind. But vanity, not love, has been my folly.”

“How little of permanent happiness could belong to a couple who were only brought together because their passions were stronger than their virtue.”

“It is this delightful habit of journalizing which largely contributes to form the easy style of writing for which ladies are so generally celebrated. Every body allows that the talent of writing is particularly female. Nature might have done something, but I am sure it must be essentially assisted by the practice of keeping a journal.”

“Laugh as much as you choose, but you will not laugh me out of my opinion.”