Elizabeth Montagu

“She kindly laments that I am not of the party, and to be sure I honour great ladies, and I admire great wits, but I am of the same opinion in regard to assemblies that is held concerning oysters, that they are never good in a month that has not the letter R in it.”

“Wit in women is apt to have bad consequences; like a sword without a scabbard, it wounds the wearer and provokes assailants.”

“To judge therefore of Shakespeare by Aristotle's rule is like trying a man by the Laws of one Country who acted under those of another.”

“I endeavor to be wise when I cannot be merry, easy when I cannot be glad, content with what cannot be mended and patient when there be no redress.”

“I never invite idiots to my house.”