Unhappy is that Grandeur which makes us too great to be good and that Wit which sets us at a distance from true Wisdom. – Mary Astell
Ignorance and a narrow education lay the foundation of vice, and imitation and custom rear it up. – Mary Astell
The design of Rhetoric is to remove those Prejudices that lie in the way of Truth, to Reduce the Passions to the Government of Reasons to place our Subject in a Right Light, and excite our Hearers to a due consideration of it. – Mary Astell
But, alas! what poor Woman is ever taught that she should have a higher Design than to get her a Husband? – Mary Astell