My idea of good company...is the company of clever, well-informed people, who have a great deal of conversation; that is what I call good company.' 'You are mistaken,' said he gently, 'that is not good company, that is the best.

This exchange occurs in Jane Austen’s novel *Persuasion* (1817), during a conversation in which Anne Elliot and Captain Harville debate what constitutes “good company.” Anne, whose intelligence is often underestimated in her family circle, defines good company as clever, well-informed people with abundant conversation. Captain Harville—speaking with affectionate admiration—corrects her by elevating her standard: such company is not merely “good” but “the best.” The moment is part of Austen’s broader depiction of Anne’s quiet worth being recognized by those capable of valuing her mind and character, in contrast to the shallow social judgments that have constrained her.

Austen contrasts conventional sociability—rank, fashion, and polite small talk—with a more substantive ideal: companionship grounded in intelligence, knowledge, and lively conversation. Anne’s definition implies that true pleasure in society comes from mutual mental engagement rather than mere proximity to status. Harville’s gentle correction both affirms Anne’s discernment and suggests a moral hierarchy of social life: “good company” is not simply agreeable manners but the rare, enriching communion of minds. The line also underscores Austen’s recurring theme that genuine worth is often quiet and private, recognized not by the loudest arbiters of taste but by those with sensibility and judgment.