Every impulse of feeling should be guided by reason; and, in my opinion, exertion should always be in proportion to what is required.
Jane AustenWhom are you going to dance with?' asked Mr. Knightley. She hesitated a moment and then replied, 'With you, if you will ask me.' Will you?' said he, offering his hand. Indeed I will. You have shown that you can dance, and you know we are not really so much brother and sister as to make it at all improper.' Brother and sister! no, indeed.
Jane AustenGood-humoured, unaffected girls, will not do for a man who has been used to sensible women. They are two distinct orders of being.
Jane AustenIt may be possible to do without dancing entirely. Instances have been known of young people passing many, many months successively without being at any ball of any description, and no material injury accrue either to body or mind.
Jane AustenShe tried to be calm, and leave things to take their course; and tried to dwell much on this argument of rational dependence โ โSurely, if there be constant attachment on each side, our hearts must understand each other ere long. We are not boy and girl, to be captiously irritable, misled by every momentโs inadvertence, and wantonly playing with our own happiness.โ And yet, a few minutes afterwards, she felt as if their being in company with each other, under their present circumstances, could only be exposing them to inadvertencies and misconstructions of the most mischievous kind.
Jane Austen