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
How can a Man respect his Wife when he has a contemptible Opinion of her and her Sex? – Mary Astell
The Relation we bear to the Wisdom of the Father, the Son of His Love, gives us indeed a dignity which otherwise we have no pretence to. It makes us something, something considerable even in Gods Eyes. – Mary Astell
Ignorance and a narrow education lay the foundation of vice, and imitation and custom rear it up. – Mary Astell
The clouds were drifting over the moon at their giddiest speed, at one time wholly obscuring her, at another, suffering her to burst forth in full splendor and shed her light on all the objects around; anon, driving over her again, with increased velocity, and shrouding everything in darkness. – Charles Dickens, The Pickwick Papers