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...
abound anger feeling forgiveness forgiving incapable minds pleasure vicious
Little, vicious minds abound with anger and revenge, and are incapable of feeling the pleasure of forgiving their enemies.
ancestry breeding brute good scholar soldier
The scholar without good breeding is a nitpicker; the philosopher a cynic; the soldier a brute and everyone else disagreeable.
confused facts heap history
History is only a confused heap of facts
fools holiday idleness refuge weak
Idleness is the only refuge of weak minds, and the holiday of fools
acquired knowledge
Knowledge of the world is only to be acquired in the world, and not in a closet.
answering concerned letters politeness reasonable returning within
Politeness is as much concerned in answering letters within a reasonable time, as it is in returning a bow, immediately.
respectable ifs
You must be respectable, if you will be respected.
funny marriage drinking
The only solid and lasting peace between a man and his wife is, doubtless, a separation.
being-strong athlete exercise
Prepare yourself for the world, as athletes used to do for their exercises; oil your mind and your manners, to give them the necessary suppleness and flexibility; strength alone will not do.
common-sense common knows
Common sense is the best sense I know of.
funny brother sibling
Being pretty on the inside means you don't hit your brother and you eat all your peas - that's what my grandma taught me.
turns justify maxims
Most maxim-mongers have preferred the prettiness to the justness of a thought, and the turn to the truth; but I have refused myself to everything that my own experience did not justify and confirm.
inferiority your-best-friend enjoy
Inferiority is what you enjoy in your best friends.
deception capitalism
Without some dissimulation no business can be carried on at all.