Quotes from Jane Austen

What are men to rocks and mountains?

If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more

Nothing is more deceitful than the appearance of humility. It is often only carelessness of opinion, and sometimes an indirect boast.

The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.

It is always incomprehensible to a man that a woman should refuse an offer of marriage

There are people, who the more you do for them, the less they will do for themselves

One man's ways may be as good as another's, but we all like our own best.

What wild imaginations one forms where dear self is concerned! How sure to be mistaken!

Next to being married, a girl likes to be crossed in love a little now and then.

Those who do not complain are never pitied.

I cannot speak well enough to be unintelligible.

The more I know of the world, the more I am convinced that I shall never see a man whom I can really love.

I do not want people to be agreeable, as it saves me that trouble of liking them a great deal.

Life seems but a quick succession of busy nothings.

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

Where so many hours have been spent in convincing myself that I am right, is there not some reason to fear I may be wrong?

A woman, especially if she has the misfortune of knowing anything, should conceal it as well as she can.

A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment.

Every man is surrounded by a neighborhood of voluntary spies.

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.

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.

Single women have a dreadful propensity for being poor. Which is one very strong argument in favor of matrimony.

There are certainly are not so many men of large fortune in the world as there are of pretty woman to deserve them.

There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort.

To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love.

To sit in the shade on a fine day and look upon verdure is the most perfect refreshment.

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.

What dreadful hot weather we have! It keeps me in a continual state of inelegance.
Where an opinion is general, it is usually correct.

There is something so amiable in the prejudices of a young mind, that one is sorry to see them give way to the reception of more general opinions.

I could easily forgive his pride, if he had not mortified mine.

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.

Indeed, I am very sorry to be right in this instance. I would much rather have been merry than wise.

How quick come the reasons for approving what we like!

For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbors, and laugh at them in our turn?

She believed that she must now submit to feel that another lesson, in the art of knowing our own nothingness beyond our own circle, was becoming necessary for her.

My idea of good company ... is the company of clever, well-informed people who have a great deal of conversation; that is what I call good company.

It is very unfair to judge any body’s conduct, without an intimate knowledge of their situation. Nobody, who has not been in the interior of a family, can say what difficulties of any individual of that family may be.

A single woman, with a very narrow income, must be a ridiculous, disagreeable, old maid! the proper sport of boys and girls; but a single woman, of good fortune, is always respectable, and may be as sensible and pleasant as anybody else.

There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart.

There is safety in reserve, but no attraction. One cannot love a reserved person.

I am pleased that you have learned to love a hyacinth. The mere habit of learning to love is the thing; and a teachableness of disposition in a young lady is a great blessing.

No man is offended by another man’s admiration of the woman he loves; it is the woman only who can make it a torment.

There are such beings in the world perhaps, one in a thousand,as the creature you and I should think perfection, where grace &spirit are united to worth, where the manners are equal to theheart & understanding, but such a person may not come in yourway, or if he does, he may not be the eldest son of a man offortune, the brother of your particular friend & belonging toyour own country.

Anything is to be preferred or endured rather than marryingwithout affection.

Selfishness must always be forgiven you know, because there is no hope of a cure.

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.

What is right to be done cannot be done too soon.

Young ladies are delicate plants. They should take care of their health and their complexion

Seldom, very seldom, does complete truth belong to any human disclosure; seldom can it happen that something is not a little disguised, or a little mistaken.

What did she say?—Just what she ought, of course. A lady always does.—She said enough to show there need not be despair—and to invite him to say more himself.

There is scarcely a young lady in the united kingdoms, who would not rather put up with the misfortune of being sought by a clever, agreeable man, than have him driven away by the vulgarity of her nearest relations.

Friendship is certainly the finest balm for the pangs of disappointed love.

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 comfort.

It was, perhaps, one of those cases in which advice is good or bad only as the event decides.

My sore throats are always worse than anyone's.