“Be pretty if you can, be witty if you must, but be gracious if it kills you.”
Elsie De Wolfe (1865–1950) American interior decorationinterior decorator
April 3, 1665
Diary
“Be pretty if you can, be witty if you must, but be gracious if it kills you.”
Elsie De Wolfe (1865–1950) American interior decorationinterior decorator
John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester (1647–1680) English poet, and peer of the realm
About King Charles II of England, as quoted in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine Vol. XLIV (January - June 1857) p. 592; It is said to that this was written on the door of Charles II’s bedchamber, and that on seeing it, the king replied, “This is very true: for my words are my own, and my actions are my ministers’....”
Other
“A witty woman is a treasure; a witty beauty is a power.”
George Meredith book Diana of the Crossways
Ch. 1 http://books.google.com/books?id=pDlxjZ-z-woC&q=%22A+witty+woman+is+a+treasure+a+witty+beauty+is+a+power%22&pg=PA2#v=onepage. <br class="br">Source: Diana of the Crossways http://www.gutenberg.org/files/4470/4470.txt (1885)
“One must have a heart of stone to read the death of little Nell without laughing.”
Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish writer and poet
“Conquered people tend to be witty.”
Saul Bellow (1915–2005) Canadian-born American writer
Mr. Sammler's planet, (1976), p. 98
General sources
“A witty saying proves nothing.”
Voltaire (1694–1778) French writer, historian, and philosopher
Le dîner du comte de Boulainvilliers (1767): Deuxième Entretien
Citas
“A witty woman is a devil at intrigue.”
Molière (1622–1673) French playwright and actor
Une femme d'esprit est un diable en intrigue.
L'École des Femmes (1662), Act III, sc. iii
“Your wit makes others witty.”
Catherine the Great (1729–1796) Empress of Russia
Letter to Voltaire, as quoted in Short Sayings of Great Men : With Historical and Explanatory Notes (1882) by Samuel Arthur Bent, and Hoyt's New Cyclopedia of Practical Quotations (1922) revised and enlarged by Kate Loise Roberts