In 1741, William Pitt, then in his thirties, was accused by veteran MP Horace Walpole of being both callow and theatrical. In a spirited reply, Pitt began by saying that folly and vice in the young were surely excusable, whereas to reach old age in the service of one’s country without acquiring either wisdom or virtue was indefensible.

Turning to the charge of theatricality, Pitt said he was unsure whether Walpole was accusing him of displaying a colourful personality, something for which he refused to apologise, or of disguising his true character and motives, in which case only his accuser’s age protected him from the punishment such an insult deserved.

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