[The Lizard of Oz]

Ali, what she invented was a rhetoric that was so powerful and persuasive that it convinced a lot of people it was the truth.

Of course I don't want to overstate her genius -- there were many men more brilliant than Andrea. But for a female her intellect and her rhetorical abilities are truly extraordinary.

One is reminded of this Samuel Johnson quote:

Quote:

I told him I had been that morning at a meeting of the people called Quakers, where I had heard a woman preach. Johnson: "Sir, a woman's preaching is like a dog's walking on his hind legs. It is not done well; but you are surprised to find it done at all."
Boswell: Life