Thursday Thirteen 86: Jane Austen Quotes

Tuesday, December 16 is novelist Jane Austen's birthday. Born in 1775, Austen wa sone of eight children and was primarily educated by her father and brothers. As she published anonymously, Austen's books brought her little fame during her lifetime, but has since become one of the most widely read British authors. Her writing is known for its realism, biting social commentary and use of irony. In honor of her approaching birthday, here are thirteen quotes from Jane Austen.

* I do not want people to be agreeable, as it saves me the trouble of liking them. (Letter to her sister, Cassandra)

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

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

* I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of any thing than of a book! -- When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library. (Pride and Prejudice)

* There are few people whom I really love, and still fewer of whom I think well. The more I see of the world, the more am I dissatisfied with it; and every day confirms my belief of the inconsistency of all human characters, and of the little dependence that can be placed on the appearance of merit or sense. (Pride and Prejudice)

* 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. (Emma)

* Friendship is certainly the finest balm for the pangs of disappointed love. (Northanger Abbey)

* It is only a novel... or, in short, only some work in which the greatest powers of the mind are displayed, in which the most thorough knowledge of human nature, the happiest delineation of its varieties, the liveliest effusions of wit and humour, are conveyed to the world in the best-chosen language. (Northanger Abbey)

* Think only of the past as its remembrance gives you pleasure. (Pride and Prejudice)

* A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of. (Mansfield Park)

* 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... Woman is fine for her own satisfaction alone. No man will admire her the more, no woman will like her the better for it. Neatness and fashion are enough for the former, and a something of shabbiness or impropriety will be most endearing to the latter. (Northanger Abbey)

* A person who can write a long letter with ease, cannot write ill. (Pride and Prejudice)

* How quick come the reasons for approving what we like! (Persuasion)

Bonus:
* It is not time or opportunity that is to determine intimacy;-- it is disposition alone. Seven years would be insufficient to make some people acquainted with each other, and seven days are more than enough for others. (Sense and Sensibility)

Haven't read Jane Austen? You can read her works online here.

LINKS TO OTHER THURSDAY THIRTEENS:

Stephanie Adkins * Adelle Laudan * Gwen Hayes
Jennifer McKenzie * Denise Patrick * Alice Audrey
Ms Menozzi * Shelley Munro * Inez Kelley
Brenda ND * Robin Rotham * MInTheGap * Mary
Paige Tyler * Janice Seagraves * Nina Pierce
Jenna Bayley-Burke * Sherry Lewis

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