William Pitt

The atrocious crime of being a young man, which the honorable gentleman has with such spirit and decency charged upon me, I shall neither attempt to palliate nor deny; but content myself with wishing that I may be one of those whose follies may cease with their youth, and not of that number who are ignorant in spite of experience.

Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who posses it; and this I know, my lords, that where laws end, tyranny begins.

The poorest man may in his cottage bid defiance to all the forces of the Crown. It may be frail, its roof may shake - the wind may blow through it - the storm may enter - the rain may enter, but the King of England cannot enter! All his force dares not cross the threshold of the ruined tenement!

Bowing, ceremonies, formal compliments, stiff civilities, will never be politeness; that must be easy, natural, unstudied; and what will give this but a mind benevolent and attentive to exert that amiable disposition in trifles to all you converse and live with?

Confidence is a plant of slow growth in an aged heart.

Poverty of course is no disgrace, but it is damned annoying.

Theoretical principals must sometimes give way for the sake of practical advantages.
- All from William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, 1708 - 1778

About:
William Pitt was born at Westminster, London on 15 Nov in 1708 into a family of wealth and political power. He was educated at Eton and entered Trinity College, Oxford, but left due to a hereditary gout that troubled him all his life. He developed skill at debate and after entering Parliament used it fearlessly. He was terrible in opposition, when in power he devoted himself to the advancement of the British Empire and ending France's position as a leader of Continental politics. Known as The Great Commoner, he lost much of the affection of the public when he accepted a peerage. A spate of ill-health kept him out of the main debate during the American Revolution. When health returned, George III gave him a generous pension, at which point Pitt bowed out of politics, probably what the king had in mind.