“The longer a woman remains single, the more apprehensive she will be of entering into the state of wedlock. At seventeen or eighteen, a girl will plunge into it, sometimes without either fear or wit; at twenty, she will begin to think; at twenty-four, will weigh and discriminate; at twenty-eight, will be afraid of venturing; at thirty, will turn about, and look down the hill she has ascended, and sometimes rejoice, sometimes repent, that she has gained that summit sola.”
Quote by Samuel Richardson

Samuel RichardsonSamuel Richardson (August 19, 1689 - July 4, 1761) was an 18th-century English writer, widely regarded as one of the founders of the modern English novel. Born in London during the reign of James II, he initially worked in book printing and publishing before turning to writing. Richardson's major works include 'Pamela,' 'Clarissa,' and 'Sir Charles Grandison,' which are renowned for their psychological depth and vivid character development. He pioneered the use of diary and epistolary formats, allowing readers intimate access to characters' inner worlds. His novels were immensely popular in their time and significantly influenced the development of the novel form, particularly in psychological characterization and social commentary. Richardson's focus on moral instruction and feminine virtue reflected 18th-century English societal values. more
“Twenty-four is a prudent age for women to marry at.”
Source: A collection of the moral and instructive sentiments, maxims, cautions, and reflexions, contained in the histories of Pamela, Clarissa, and Sir Charles Grandison: Digested under proper heads, with references to the volume, ...
“Parents cannot expect advice to have the same force upon their children as experience has upon themselves.”
“Men and women are brothers and sisters; they are not of different species; and what need be obtained to know both, but to allow for different modes of education, for situation and constitution, or perhaps I should rather say, for habits, whether good or bad.”
Source: The Correspondence of Samuel Richardson, Author of Pamela, Clarissa, and Sir Charles Grandison: Selected from the Original Manuscripts, Bequeathed by Him to His Family, to which are Prefixed, a Biographical Account of that Author, and Observations on His Writings
“What the unpenetrating world call Humanity, is often no more than a weak mind pitying itself.”
Source: Letters and passages restored from the original manuscripts of the History of Clarissa. To which is subjoined, a collection of such of the moral and instructive sentiments ... contained in the History, as are presumed to be of general use and service ... Published for the sake of doing justice to the purchasers of the first two editions of that work
“Though a censure lies against those who are poor and proud, yet is Pride sooner to be forgiven in a poor person than in a rich one; since in the latter it is insult and arrogance; in the former, it may be a defense against temptations to dishonesty; and, if manifested on proper occasions, may indicate a natural bravery of mind, which the frowns of fortune cannot depress.”
“The world, the wise world, that never is wrong itself, judges always by events. And if he should use me ill, then I shall be blamed for trusting him: if well, O then I did right, to be sure!--But how would my censurers act in my case, before the event justifies or condemns the action, is the question.”
Source: Pamela Volume 1: Samuel Richardson Collections
“I never knew a man who deserved to be thought well of for his morals who had a slight opinion of our Sex in general.”
Source: A collection of the moral and instructive sentiments, maxims, cautions, and reflexions, contained in the histories of Pamela, Clarissa, and Sir Charles Grandison: Digested under proper heads, with references to the volume, ...
“Old men, imagining themselves under obligation to young paramours, seldom keep any thing from their knowledge.”
“Reverence to a woman in courtship is less to be dispensed with, as, generally, there is but little of it shown afterwards.”
“The coyest maids make the fondest wives.”
Source: Clarissa