It is only a novel... or, in short, only some work in which the greatest powers of the mind are displayed, in which the most thorough knowledge of human nature, the happiest delineation of its varieties, the liveliest effusions of wit and humour, are conveyed to the world in the best-chosen language Jane Austen
About This Quote

The quote “It is only a novel... or, in short, only some work in which the greatest powers of the mind are displayed” by the English essayist and novelist Samuel Johnson was originally published in The Rambler (No. 3) on October 8, 1751. The purpose of Johnson’s essay was to encourage people to read more books and not be intimidated by them. He encourages the reader to not get too serious about books and to not get stuck in them, but instead to get through them as quickly as possible.

Source: Northanger Abbey

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More Quotes By Jane Austen
  1. 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.
  2. A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment.
  3. In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.
  4. The more I know of the world, the more I am convinced that I shall never see a man whom I can really love. I require so much!
  5. I cannot fix on the hour, or the spot, or the look or the words, which laid the foundation. It is too long ago. I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun.
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