Lord Chesterfield
Lord Chesterfield
Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield KG PCwas a British statesman, and a man of letters, and wit. He was born in London to Philip Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Chesterfield, and Lady Elizabeth Savile, and known as Lord Stanhope until the death of his father, in 1726. Educated at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, he subsequently embarked on the Grand Tour of the Continent, to complete his education as a nobleman, by exposure to the cultural legacies of Classical antiquity and...
wise men thinking
Young men are as apt to think themselves wise enough, as drunken men are to think themselves sober enough. They look upon spirit to be a much better thing than experience; which they call coldness. They are but half mistaken; for though spirit without experience is dangerous, experience without spirit is languid and ineffective.
cottages manners court
Cottages have them (falsehood and dissimulation) as well as courts, only with worse manners.
resentment forgotten sometimes
It is often more necessary to conceal contempt than resentment; the former is never forgiven, but the later is sometimes forgotten.
self firsts natural
Nothing is more dissimilar than natural and acquired politeness. The first consists in a willing abnegation of self; the second in a compelled recollection of others.
confidence diffidence
We are as often duped by diffidence as by confidence.
dignity breeding ill
Good-breeding carries along with it a dignity that is respected by the most petulant. Ill-breeding invites and authorizes the familiarity of the most timid.
friendship connections degrees
The most familiar and intimate habitudes, connections, friendships, require a degree of good-breeding both to preserve and cement them.
friendship enmity strange
In your friendships and in your enmities let your confidence and your hostilities have certain bounds; make not the former dangerous, nor the latter irreconcilable. There are strange vicissitudes in business.
account admitted ask company considered dances deep drink esteem exclude great ideas invite joking merit merits plays respected sake sings sought whoever
Whoever is admitted or sought for, in company, upon any other account than that of his merit and manners, is never respected there, but only made use of. We will have such-a-one, for he sings prettily; we will invite such-a-one to a ball, for he dances well; we will have such-a-one at supper, for he is always joking and laughing; we will ask another because he plays deep at all games, or because he can drink a great deal. These are all vilifying distinctions, mortifying preferences, and exclude all ideas of esteem and regard. Whoever is had (as it is called) in company for the sake of any one thing singly, is singly that thing, and will never be considered in any other light; consequently never respected, let his merits be what they will.
apt men secrets trusted vanity
Women, and young men, are very apt to tell what secrets they know, from the vanity of having been trusted
asked learning merely proclaim pull watch wear
Wear your learning like a watch and do not pull it out merely to show you have it. If you are asked for the time, tell it; but do not proclaim it hourly unasked.
british-statesman learning merely private pull strike wear
Wear your learning like your watch, in a private pocket; and do not pull it out, and strike it, merely to show that you have one.
learning merely private pull strike wear
Wear your learning like your watch, in a private pocket; and do not pull it out and strike it merely to show that you have one
dirt dress presented words
Words are the dress of thoughts; which should no more be presented in rags, tatters, and dirt than your person should