What a triumph for him, as she often thought, could he know that the proposals which she had proudly spurned only four months ago, would now have been gladly and gratefully received! He was as generous, she doubted not, as the most generous of his sex; but while he was mortal, there must be a triumph.
– Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 50. Elizabeth ponders what she has lost by her proud rejection of Mr. Darcy’s marriage proposal. Her views of and feelings for Darcy have since dramatically changed. Now she thinks him as the most generous man and if he proposed now she would "gladly and gratefully" accept him.