"It is happy for you that you possess the talent of flattering with delicacy. May I ask whether these pleasing attentions proceed from the impulse of the moment, or are the result of previous study?"
"They arise chiefly from what is passing at the time, and though I sometimes amuse myself with suggesting and arranging such little elegant compliments as may be adapted to ordinary occasions, I always wish to give them as unstudied an air as possible."
– Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 14. Mr. Bennet is making fun of Mr. Collins and being ironical at his guest’s expense when he compliments him on his talent of "flattering with delicacy." But Mr. Collins is too dense and full of his own vanity to notice it. In his reply Collins admits to thinking up compliments and practising them so that present them at the right time as if they came naturally.