I endeavor to be wise when I cannot be merry, easy when I cannot be glad, content when I cannot be mended and patient when there be no redress.
Source: Letter (c. 1739), The Letters of Mrs. Elizabeth Montagu, 1810-1813 .
-- Elizabeth Montagu, (Oct 2 1720-1800), English intellectual, conversationalist; She was one of the first Bluestockings, English women who organized conversation evenings to find a more worthy pastime than card playing.