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...
common-sense truth-is uncommon
Common sense (which, in truth, is very uncommon) is the best sense I know of: abide by it; it will counsel you best.
men common-sense desire
It is to be presumed, that a man of common sense, who does not desire to please, desires nothing at all; since he must know that he cannot obtain anything without it.
light order common-sense
The receipt to make a speaker, and an applauded one too, is short and easy. Take common sense quantum sufficit; add a little application to the rules and orders of the House [of Commons], throw obvious thoughts in a new light, and make up the whole with a large quantity of purity, correctness and elegancy of style. Take it for granted that by far the greatest part of mankind neither analyze nor search to the bottom; they are incapable of penetrating deeper than the surface.
common-sense common knows
Common sense is the best sense I know of.
cannot crawl domestic fellow good narrow obliged planet wish
While I can crawl upon this planet I think myself obliged to do what good I can, in my narrow domestic spheres, to my fellow creatures, and to wish them all the good I cannot do
mistake wife found
To take a wife merely as an agreeable and rational companion, will commonly be found to be a grand mistake.
men share endure
A man must have a good share of wit himself to endure a great share in another.
almost man woman
Every man is to be had one way or another, and every woman almost any way
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
choose dead
Tyrawley and I have been dead these two years; but we don't choose to have it known.
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
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.
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.
fools holiday idleness refuge weak
Idleness is the only refuge of weak minds, and the holiday of fools