1800s Quotes

“Women are told from their infancy, and taught by the example of their mothers, that a little knowlegde of human weakness, justly termed cunning, softness of temper; outward obedience, and a scrupulous attention to a puerile kind of proptiety, will obtain for them the protection of man; and should they be beautiful, every thing else is needless, for, at least, twenty years of their lives.”
― Mary Wollstonecraft

“In most books, the I, or first person, is omitted; in this it will be retained; that, in respect to egotism, is the main difference.”
― Henry David Thoreau

“Other than involving yourself with ungrateful vegetable matter, colour, vigour and fascination can be imparted into a small outdoor space by several other methods.

In the 18th century, the inclusion of a hermit on one's estate was regarded as the epitome of country house style. There is absolutely no reason why today's dandy should not avail himself of the same privilege. It's a straightforward enough matter to entice a hopelessly drunk vagrant back to your premises using the simple lure of an opened bottle of wine. Once there, dress him in a bed sheet, wreathe his head in foliage and invite him to take up residence in an old barrel with the promise of unlimited alcohol, tobacco and scraps from your table in return for a sterling display of relentless solitude. Such a move not only provides the disadvantaged with ideal employment opportunities, but also enhances your reputation for stylish romanticism. Watch your friends gape in wonderment at the picturesque spectacle as your hermit sporadically peers out the top of the barrel and matters a few enigmatic words of wisdom.”
― Vic Darkwood Gustav Temple, The Chap Almanac : An Esoterick Yearbook for the Decadent Gentleman

“Paris was the cross-roads of the world.”
― Lesley Blanch, The Wilder Shores of Love: The Exotic True-Life Stories of Isabel Burton, Aimee Dubucq de Rivery, Jane Digby, and Isabelle Eberhardt

“Russian realism was born in the second half of the forties. ... In substance it is a cross between the satirical naturalism of Gogol and an older sentimentalism revived and represented in the thirties and forties by the then enormously influential George Sand. Gogol and George Sand were the father and mother of Russian realism and its accepted masters during the initial stages.”
― D.S. Mirsky, A History of Russian Literature: From Its Beginnings to 1900

“Stefan!" shouted Casimir. "What are you doing, out in the rain with that girl? Madman!"
As Stefan raised his head, Rozalia heard her aunt's bubbling laughter.
"Not a madman, Cass - a lover!"
"Same thing," said Casimir; but he put an arm around Anastasia where she stood holding the baby, and kissed her.”
― Sarah Brazytis, The Reluctant Bride

“Èdouard si accontentò delle sue ricerche, andò a pranzare, tornò a casa, confrontò l'appartamento che avrebbe preso con quello che stava per lasciare, vide che non guadagnava altro che un cambiamento ed ebbe i rimpianti che vengono quando si lascia la propria abitazione da scapolo, per piccola e scomoda che sia. Si rammenta tutto quello che è successo da quando è stata abitata, le passate emozioni quotidiane che ha visto nascere e morire, come fiori mattutini, sbocciati fra quattro mura, di cui resta solo quel profumo chiamato ricordo. Allora si rimpiange tutto, perfino la musica insipida del pianoforte della vicina, maledetto pianoforte che si ritrova in tutte le case in cui si è vissuto e che miagola da mattina a sera i suoi arpeggi eterni e mai appresi; si rimpiange perfino il portiere che alla sera vi consegnava il candeliere e la chiave, e qualche volta una lettera desiderata, tanto desiderata che si benediceva la mano che la consegnava quanto quella che l'aveva scritta.
Poi giunge la viglia del trasloco. Quella sera, col pretesto dei bauli da fare, si rientra presto, talvolta con un amico che viene ad aiutare, ma più spesso da soli, si aprono gli armadi, i mobili; si scompiglia tutto, si toccano quaranta cose senza prenderne nessuna, non si sa da dove cominciare; poi, di colpo, in un cassetto dimenticato, si ritrova una lettera altrettanto dimenticata. Poi un'altra, poi un'altra ancora; ci si accomoda sul bordo del letto e si intraprende la lettura del proprio passato, inframmezzata da questi muti monologhi: <>.
E la serata passa non si sa come, senza nulla di fatto, evocando soavi ombre di donne, che senza dubbio, nel momento preciso in cui ci si ricorda di loro, stanno dicendo ad altri le parole deliziose e menzognere che vi dicevano tempo fa.
Il giorno dopo, quando ci si alza e non restano che due ore per traslocare, tutto è ancora più disordinato del giorno prima.”
― Alexandre Dumas, Un'amazzone

“As to the Berlin fashions, which some of our contemporaries have been trying to introduce, they are unutterably ugly. Paris is, and must always remain, the fountain-head of fashion. Nobody, with any pretentions to style, will dress after any other mode.
- Peterson's Magazine, May 1871”
― Peterson's Magazine

“The cobblestones are a bad match for the wagon, making it feel like she’s sitting atop her own personal earthquake.”
― Shawn P. McCarthy

“If God has given all things their significance, and defined their bounds according to time, space, power, and number, and if He has appointed certain measurements to regulate things and times, biblical numbers must be symbolical, and be worthy of our study; and if a fit subject for study, the laws by which this symbolism of numbers is controlled, require to be ascertained.”
― Patrick Fairbairn

“...this nation must rank among the most enlightened in the universe. Politics, religion and literature have made of Scotland something beyond compare...”
― Charles de Rémusat