Well has Solomon said – “Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.”
I would not now have exchanged Lowood with all its privations, for Gateshead and its daily luxuries.
– Charlotte Bronte
Jane Eyre, Chapter 8. Having found love and friendship in Lowood, Jane prefers her school home with its meagre food rations to the loveless luxury of her Aunt Reed’s home at Gateshead. Here she quotes one of Solomon’s proverbs, which advises that it is better to be poor and eat badly than to dine well in a luxurious environment full of hatred.