Evelina, Or, the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World

“Unused to the situations in which I find myself, and embarassed by the slightest difficulties, I seldom discover, till too late, how I ought to act.””

— Fanny Burney

“Generosity without delicacy, like wit without judgement, generally gives as much pain as pleasure.””

— Fanny Burney

“She [Evelina] is not, indeed, like most modern young ladies; to be known in half an hour; her modest worth, and fearful excellence, require both time and encouragement to show themselves.””

— Fanny Burney

“You must learn not only to judge but to act for yourself.””

— Fanny Burney

“I revere you. I esteem and admire you above all human beings. You are the friend to whom my soul is attached as to its better half. You are the most amiable, the most perfect of women. And you are dearer to me than language has the power of telling… You are now all my own… How will my soul find room for its happiness? It seems already bursting!””

— Fanny Burney

“it is sometimes dangerous to make requests to men, who are too desirous of receiving them.””

— Fanny Burney

“I have the honour to be quite of your Lordship's opinion," said Mr. Lovel, looking maliciously at Mrs. Selwyn, "for I have an insuperable aversion to strength, either of body or mind, in a female.""Faith, and so have I," said Mr. Coverley; "for egad I'd as soon see a woman chop wood, as hear her chop logic.""So would every man in his senses," said Lord Merton; "for a woman wants nothing to recommend her but beauty and good nature; in every thing else she is either impertinent or unnatural. For my part, deuce take me if ever I wish to hear a word of sense from a woman as long as I live!""It has always been agreed," said Mrs. Selwyn, looking round her with the utmost contempt, "that no man ought to be connected with a woman whose understanding is superior to his own. Now I very much fear, that to accommodate all this good company, according to such a rule, would be utterly impracticable, unless we should chuse subjects from Swift's hospital of idiots.””

— Fanny Burney

“To despise riches, may, indeed, be philosophic, but to dispense them worthily, surely, must be more beneficial to mankind.””

— Fanny Burney

“Remember, my dear Evelina, nothing is so delicate as the reputation of a woman: it is, at once, the most beautiful and most brittle of all human things.””

— Fanny Burney