It is far better to endure patiently a smart which nobody feels but yourself, than to commit a hasty action whose evil consequences will extend to all connected with you; and besides, the Bible bids us return good for evil.
– Charlotte Bronte
Jane Eyre, Chapter 6. Helen Burns is speaking to Jane after Helen has been flogged on the neck by teacher Miss Scatcherd brandishing a bundle of twigs. The rebellious Jane says that had she been struck by that rod, she would have grabbed it from the teacher’s hand and broken it under her nose. But Helen is a religious girl who believes in the Bible’s message of turning the other cheek and showing Christian forgiveness to your enemies. She becomes Jane’s best friend at Lowood.