"But he who dares not grasp the thorn
Should never crave the rose."
— Anne Brontë

"I cannot love a man who cannot protect me."
— Anne Brontë (The Tenant of Wildfell Hall)

"I am at a loss to conceive how a man should permit himself to write anything that would be truly disgraceful to a woman, or why a woman should be censured for writing anything that would be proper and becoming for a man."
— Anne Brontë

"i love the silent hour of night, for blissful dreams may then arise, revealing to my charmed sight what may not bless my waking eyes. "
— Anne Brontë

"It is foolish to wish for beauty. Sensible people never either desire it for themselves or care about it in others. If the mind be but well cultivated, and the heart well disposed, no one ever cares for the exterior. (Agnes Grey)

"
— Anne Brontë (Agnes Grey)

"I was sorry for her; I was amazed, disgusted at her heartless vanity; I wondered why so much beauty should be given to those who made so bad a use of it, and denied to some who would make it a benefit to both themselves and others.

But, God knows best, I concluded. There are, I suppose, some men as vain, as selfish, and as heartless as she is, and, perhaps, such women may be useful to punish them.
"
— Anne Brontë (Agnes Grey)

"All true histories contain instruction; though, in some, the treasure may be hard to find, and when found, so trivial in quantity, that the dry, shriveled kernel scarcely compensates for the trouble of cracking the nut."
— Anne Brontë (Agnes Grey)

"A little girl loves her bird--Why? Because it lives and feels; because it is helpless and harmless? A toad, likewise, lives and feels, and is equally helpless and harmless; but though she would not hurt a toad, she cannot love it like the bird, with its graceful form, soft feathers, and bright, speaking eyes."
— Anne Brontë

"Then, you must fall each into your proper place. You'll do your business, and she, if she's worthy of you, will do hers; but it's your business to please yourself, and hers to please you."
— Anne Brontë (The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and Agnes Grey)

"My soul is awakened, my spirit is soaring and carried aloft on the wings of the breeze."
— Anne Brontë

"It is foolish to wish for beauty. Sensible people never either desire it for themselves or care about it in others. If the mind be but well cultivated, and the heart well disposed, no one ever cares for the exterior. (Agnes Grey)"
— Anne Brontë (Agnes Grey)

"In love afairs, there is no mediator like a merry, simple-hearted child - ever ready to cement divided hearts, to span the unfriendly gulf of custom, to melt the ice of cold reserve, and overthrow the separating walls of dread formality and pride."
— Anne Brontë

"All our talents increase in the using, and every faculty, both good and bad, strengthens by exercise."
— Anne Brontë