1,664 Quotes by Jane Austen

She was without any power, because she was without any desire of command over herself.

She was determined, as she felt it to be her duty, to try to overcome all that was excessive.

I would much rather have been merry than wise.

A Mr. (save, perhaps, some half dozen in the nation,) always needs a note of explanation.

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.

. . . she had prejudices on the side of ancestry; she had a value for rank and consequence, which blinded her a little to the faults of those who possessed them.

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!

You have no ambition, I well know. Your wishes are all moderate.' 'As moderate as those of the rest of the world, I believe. I wish as well as every body else to be perfectly happy, but like every body else it must be in my own way. Greatness will not make me so.

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.