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.
brute cow mere pleasure reading sort
The mere brute pleasure of reading -the sort of pleasure a cow must have in grazing.
british-statesman count learned learning people pocket pull seem time watch wear
Never seem more learned than the people you are with. Wear your learning like a pocket watch and keep it hidden. Do not pull it out to count the hours, but give the time when you are asked.
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.
ease freedom manner vulgar
The manner of a vulgar man has freedom without ease; the manner of a gentleman, ease without freedom
idleness till today tomorrow
No idleness, no laziness, no procrastination; never put off till tomorrow what you can do today
smile patience degrees
Let this be one invariable rule of your conduct--never to show the least symptom of resentment, which you cannot, to a certain degree, gratify; but always to smile, where you cannot strike.
forgiveness silly pride
Wrongs are often forgiven, but contempt never is. Our pride remembers it forever. It implies a discovery of weakness, which we are more careful to conceal than a crime. Many a man will confess his crimes to a friend; but I never knew a man that would tell his silly weaknesses to his most intimate one.
respectable ifs
You must be respectable, if you will be respected.
mazes purpose firmness
Firmness of purpose is one of the best instruments of success.