'We learn that it is not the rays which bodies absorb, but those which they reject, that give them the colours they are known by; and in the same way people are specialized by their dislikes and antagonisms, whilst their goodwill is looked upon as no attribute at all.'A Pair of Blue Eyes, Thomas Hardy
'And yet to every bad there is a worse.'A Pair of Blue Eyes, Thomas Hardy
'A man's silence is wonderful to listen to.'A Pair of Blue Eyes, Thomas Hardy
'Men, when they are in love, are jealous of everybody else in their sweetheart's heart.'Knight
'There is an outer chamber of the brain in which thoughts unowned by ourselves are sometimes allowed to wander for a moment prior to being sent off whence they came.'A Pair of Blue Eyes, Thomas Hardy
'Often inspired to reach high levels, she nevertheless found herself daily doing the low.'A Pair of Blue Eyes, Thomas Hardy
'Many besides Angel have learnt that the magnitude of lives is not as to their external displacements, but as to their subjective experiences.'A Pair of Blue Eyes, Thomas Hardy
'Smith, your experience of women is not large I presume? Very well. Don't you recollect what you have felt after seeing a particularly pleasing person? You consider how lonely you are in your general life. To make a practical matter of it, suppose I were|to meet a woman whom I love as I believe a woman can be loved.'Knight
'A phenomenon of evanescent beauty.'A Pair of Blue Eyes, Thomas Hardy
'The age of chivalry is past. Alas, poet's imagination! It is not that women are physically degenerate, as Knights, Lancelots, Harold Hardradars, and others might affirm. It is not that the star of womanhood is small, for Venus among her satellites is great.'A Pair of Blue Eyes, Thomas Hardy
'She was constructing a vision of adoration, regular in feature, statuesque in movement, full-mouthed and dark-eyed.'A Pair of Blue Eyes, Thomas Hardy
'It is more... it is a delight of my life to see you. I have watched you grow. Now I watch you retire.'Knight
'Though many suns have risen and set since the time he alluded to, the image of Elfride as a child had never been effaced from his memory.'A Pair of Blue Eyes, Thomas Hardy
'Why, yes; I must own it; I am a little fond of what is called 'churchyard literature.''Elfride
'Well, that's that; and the sooner the better. A long courtship is a trying thing; but yet, when I look at my bride, it seems to me there's a difference between her and common women.'Smith
'This helping me, a poor idler and good-for-nothing, is a very pretty exhibition of sweet temper, Elfride, but I fear it is depriving you of your woodland walk.'Smith