Being silly

At the beginning of Chapter 7 Mr. Bennet remarks "If my children are silly I must hope to always be sensible of it." This is a wise thing to say. If a parent knows that their children are "silly" in their thinking, then the parents can intervene and try to make them think rationally and clearly, if the parents are compassionate about their children. Mr. Bennet obviously cares about his daughters' well-beings.