Thy purpose is as odious as thy resentment is contemptible. — Horace Walpole

"It always amazes me, when I reflect on the women, who are the first to propagate scandal of one another. If they would but agree not to censure what they all agree to do, there would be no more loss of characters among them than amongst men. A woman cannot have an affair, but instantly all her sex travel about to publish it and leave her off: now, if a man cheats another of his estate at play, forges a will, or marries his ward to his own son, nobody thinks of leaving him off for such trifles!"

"Prognostics do not always prove prophecies, — at least the wisest prophets make sure of the event first."

"When I first came abroad, every thing struck me, and I wrote its history; but now I am grown so used to be surprised, that I dont perceive any flutter in myself when I meet with any novelties; curiosity and astonishment wear off, and the next thing is, to fancy that other people know as much of places as ones self; or, at least, one does not remember that they do not. It appears to me as odd to write to you of St. Peters, as it would do to you to write of Westminster-abbey. Besides, as one looks at churches, &c. with a book of travels in ones hand, and sees every thing particularised there, it would appear transcribing, to write upon the same subjects."

"Our supreme governors, the mob."

"The world is a comedy to those that think; a tragedy to those that feel– a solution of why Democritus laughed and Heraclitus wept."

"Instead of the glorious and ever-memorable year 1759, as the newspapers call it, I call it this ever-warm and victorious year. We have not had more conquest than fine weather: one would think we had plundered East and West Indies of sunshine. Our bells are worn threadbare with ringing for victories. I believe it will require ten votes of the House of Commons before people believe it is the Duke of Devonshire that has done this, and not Mr. Pitt."