1,664 Quotes by Jane Austen

Every body at all addicted to letter writing, without having much to say, which will include a large proportion of the female world at least…

Unhappy as the event must be for Lydia, we may draw from it this useful lesson: that loss of virtue in a female is irretrievable; that one false step involves her in endless ruin; that her reputation is no less brittle than it is beautiful; and that she cannot be too much guarded in her behaviour towards the undeserving of the other sex.

La sagesse est préférable à l'esprit, et sur le long terme, c'est elle qui aura le dernier mot.

Brandon is just the kind of man whom every body speaks well of, and nobody cares about; whom all are delighted to see, and nobody remembers to talk to.

He was not handsome, and his manners required intimacy to make them pleasing

Affectation of candour is common enough—one meets with it everywhere. But to be candid without ostentation or design—to take the good of everybody's character and make it still better, and say nothing of the bad—belongs to you alone.

They were rather handsome, had been educated in one of the first private seminaries in town,

There is so much of gratitude or vanity in almost every attachment, that it is not safe to leave any to itself. We can all BEGIN freely--a slight preference is natural enough; but there are very few of us who have heart enough to be really in love without encouragement. In nine cases out of ten a women had better show MORE affection than she feels. Bingley likes your sister undoubtedly; but he may never do more than like her, if she does not help him on.

Non puoi, per amore di una persona, mutare la sostanza dei principi e dell'integrità morale, come non puoi cercare di convincerti, o di convincere me, che l'egoismo è prudenza, e l'incoscienza del pericolo una garanzia di felicità.