Solved cryptogram
We must not expect a lively young man to be always so guarded and circumspect.
Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, chapter 24.
The passage it comes from
The quotation is marked in the paragraph it sits in, with the prose either side of it for company.
"To oblige you, I would try to believe almost anything, but no one else could be benefited by such a belief as this; for were I persuaded that Charlotte had any regard for him, I should only think worse of her understanding than I now do of her heart. My dear Jane, Mr. Collins is a conceited, pompous, narrow-minded, silly man: you know he is, as well as I do; and you must feel, as well as I do, that the woman who marries him cannot have a proper way of thinking. You shall not defend her, though it is Charlotte Lucas. You shall not, for the sake of one individual, change the meaning of principle and integrity, nor endeavour to persuade yourself or me, that selfishness is prudence, and insensibility of danger security for happiness."
"I must think your language too strong in speaking of both," replied Jane; "and I hope you will be convinced of it, by seeing them happy together. But enough of this. You alluded to something else. You mentioned two instances. I cannot misunderstand you, but I entreat you, dear Lizzy, not to pain me by thinking that person to blame, and saying your opinion of him is sunk. We must not be so ready to fancy ourselves intentionally injured. We must not expect a lively young man to be always so guarded and circumspect. It is very often nothing but our own vanity that deceives us. Women fancy admiration means more than it does."
"And men take care that they should."
Text from the Project Gutenberg edition, which is in the public domain in the United States.
Solve it yourself
This quotation is a cryptogram here: 63 letters over 20 different ones, graded medium.
- Written byJane Austen
- Taken fromPride and Prejudice
- Difficultymedium
- Length63 letters, 20 of them different
Nearby in the book
The puzzles either side of this one in the novel.
- Chapter 24medium, 71 letters
- Chapter 24hard, 60 letters
- Chapter 24hard, 83 letters
- Chapter 25medium, 74 letters
About as hard as this one
Scored closest to it by the model behind our guide to solving cryptograms.
- Chapter 46medium, 61 letters
- Chapter 7medium, 59 letters
- Chapter 18medium, 77 letters
- Chapter 39medium, 58 letters
Every Pride and Prejudice cryptogram · About the collection · More by Jane Austen