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...
running people attention
Great merit or great failings will make you respected or despised; but trifles, little attentions, mere nothings, either done or neglected, will make you either liked or disliked, in the general run of the world. Examine yourself, why you like such and such people and dislike such and such others; and you will find that those different sentiments proceed from very slight causes.
running drinking loss
Many young people adopt pleasures for which they have not the least taste, only because they are called by that name.... You mustallow that drunkenness, which is equally destructive to body and mind, is a fine pleasure. Gaming, that draws you into a thousand scraps, leaves you penniless, and gives you the air and manners of an outrageous madman, is another most exquisite pleasure, is it not? As to running after women, the consequences of that vice are only the loss of one's nose, the total destruction of health, and, not unfrequently, the being run through the body.
running country hunting
The French manner of hunting is gentlemanlike; ours is only for bumpkins and bodies. The poor beasts here are pursued and run downby much greater beasts than themselves; and the true British fox-hunter is most undoubtedly a species appropriated and peculiar to this country, which no other part of the globe produces.
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.
attention contempt due inside man proper relation
Due attention to the inside of books, and due contempt for the outside, is the proper relation between a man of sense and his books.
alone athletes manners mind necessary oil prepare strength
Prepare yourself for the world, as the athletes used to do for their exercise; oil your mind and your manners, to give them the necessary suppleness and flexibility; strength alone will not do.
almost man woman
Every man is to be had one way or another, and every woman almost any way
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.
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.
error innocent man mind people regard woman
If a man has a mind to be thought wiser, and a woman handsomer than they really are, their error is a comfortable one to themselves, and an innocent one with regard to other people
full heard nobody since sure
I am sure that since I have had the full use of my reason, nobody has ever heard me laugh.
fools holiday idleness refuge weak
Idleness is the only refuge of weak minds, and the holiday of fools
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.
critics dressing dull feed taste
Let dull critics feed upon the carcasses of plays; give me the taste and the dressing