I pay very little regard...to what any young person says on the subject of marriage. If they profess a disinclination for it, I only set it down that they have not yet seen the right person.
Jane AustenRead
There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature.
Interpretation
True friendship requires full commitment and unconditional love.
In this quote, Jane Austen expresses the depth and sincerity of her feelings toward true friends. She emphasizes that her loyalty and love are unwavering, suggesting that being a genuine friend means giving oneself completely, without reservations or half-measures. This reflects the importance of deep, authentic connections in friendships.
In practice
During a toast at a wedding, to celebrate the importance of friendship.
I pay very little regard...to what any young person says on the subject of marriage. If they profess a disinclination for it, I only set it down that they have not yet seen the right person.
Nobody could catch cold by the sea; nobody wanted appetite by the sea; nobody wanted spirits; nobody wanted strength. Sea air was healing, softening, relaxing - fortifying and bracing - seemingly just as was wanted - sometimes one, sometimes the other. If the sea breeze failed, the seabath was the certain corrective; and where bathing disagreed, the sea air alone was evidently designed by nature for the cure.
He certainly is very agreeable, and I give you leave to like him. You have liked many a stupider person.
A person who is knowingly bent on bad behavior, gets upset when better behavior is expected of them.
You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever.
She hoped to be wise and reasonable in time; but alas! Alas! She must confess to herself that she was not wise yet.
All male friendships are essentially quixotic: they last only so long as each man is willing to polish the shaving-bowl helmet, climb on his donkey, and ride off after the other in pursuit of illusive glory and questionable adventure.
A friend is a person with whom I may be sincere. Before him I may think aloud.
In the face of adversity, hope often comes in the form of a friend who reaches out to us.
Life is partly what we make it, and partly what it is made by the friends we choose.
We live in a world of easy friendships - people here for you when it's easy, 'so-sorry-but-I-have-an-errand-to-do-now' when it's not.
And let your best be for your friend. If he must know the ebb of your tide, let him know its flood also. For what is your friend that your should seek with him hours to kill? Seek with him always hours to live. For it is his to fill your need, but not your emptiness. And in the sweetness of friendship, let there be laughter, and the sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.
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