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...
hurt humor shining
If you have wit, use it to please and not to hurt: you may shine like the sun in the temperate zones without scorching.
half care example
We are in truth, more than half what we are by imitation. The great point is to choose good models and to study them with care.
beautiful women understanding
Women who are either indisputably beautiful, or indisputably ugly, are best flattered upon the score of their understandings.
fashion laughter silly
Loud laughter is the mirth of the mob, who are only pleased with silly things; for true Wit or good Sense never excited a laugh since the creation of the world. A man of parts and fashion is therefore often seen to smile, but never heard to laugh.
passion men vanity
Women are much more like each other than men: they have, in truth, but two passions, vanity and love; these are their universal characteristics.
art long desire
Most arts require long study and application; but the most useful of all, that of pleasing, only the desire.
wise philosophy care
Not to care for philosophy is to be a true philospher.
character nations
The nation looked upon him as a deserter, and he shrunk into insignificancy and an earldom.
men advice praise
Whenever a man seeks your advice he generally seeks your praise.
distance night fool
Those who travel heedlessly from place to place, observing only their distance from each other, and attending only to their accommodation at the inn at night, set out fools, and will certainly return so
beauty flattery gross
Women have, in general, but ne object, which is their beauty; upon which, scarce any flattery is too gross for them to swallow.
beauty men owners
Women's beauty, like men's wit, is generally fatal to the owners.
fall blind young
The young leading the young, is like the blind leading the blind; "they will both fall into the ditch.
judging people understanding
The manner of your speaking is full as important as the matter, as more people have ears to be tickled than understandings to judge.