Quotes by Lord Chesterfield

Lord Chesterfield

Lord Chesterfield

English statesman, diplomat and writer (Philip Dormer Stanhope)

Lived from: 1694 - 1773

Category: Politics | Writers (Contemporary) Country: FlagUnited Kingdom

Born: 22 september 1694 Died: 24 march 1773

  • The only solid and lasting peace between a man and his wife is, doubtless, a separation.
  • Wit is so shining a quality that everybody admires it; most people aim at it, all people fear it, and few love it unless in themselves. A man must have a good share of wit himself to endure a great share of it in another.
  • 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.
  • No man tastes pleasures truly, who does not earn them by previous business; and few people do business well, who do nothing else.
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  • Firmness of purpose is one of the most necessary sinews of character, and one of the best instruments of success. Without it genius wastes its efforts in a maze of inconsistencies.
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  • Let your enemies be disarmed by the gentleness of your manner, but at the same time let them feel, the steadiness of your resentment.
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  • Advice is seldom welcome; and those who want it the most always like it the least.
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  • Aim at perfection in everything, though in most things it is unattainable. However, they who aim at it, and persevere, will come much nearer to it than those whose laziness and despondency make them give it up as unattainable.
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  • Be your character what it will, it will be known; and nobody will take it upon your word.
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  • Little, vicious minds abound with anger and revenge, and are incapable of feeling the pleasure of forgiving their enemies.
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  • Patience is the most necessary quality for business, many a man would rather you heard his story than grant his request.
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  • The scholar without good breeding is a nitpicker; the philosopher a cynic; the soldier a brute and everyone else disagreeable.
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  • The world can doubtless never be well known by theory: practice is absolutely necessary; but surely it is of great use to a young man, before he sets out for that country, full of mazes, windings, and turnings, to have at least a general map of it, made by some experienced traveler.
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  • When a person is in fashion, all they do is right.
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  • A constant smirk upon the face, and a whiffing activity of the body, are strong indications of futility.
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  • A man of sense only trifles with them, plays with them, humors and flatters them, as he does with a sprightly and forward child; but he neither consults them about, nor trusts them with, serious matters.
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  • A man's own good breeding is the best security against other people's ill manners.
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  • A weak mind is like a microscope, which magnifies trifling things, but cannot receive great ones.
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  • A wise man will live as much within his wit as within his income.
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  • All I desire for my own burial is not to be buried alive; but how or where, I think, must be entirely indifferent to every rational creature.
    Letters (1892)
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  • An able man shows his spirit by gentle words and resolute actions.
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  • Any affectation whatsoever in dress implies, in my mind, a flaw in the understanding.
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  • As fathers commonly go, it is seldom a misfortune to be fatherless; and considering the general run of sons, as seldom a misfortune to be childless.
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  • Be wiser than other people, if you can; but do not tell them so.
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What are the most famous quotes from Lord Chesterfield?

The two most famous quotes from Lord Chesterfield are:

  • "Firmness of purpose is one of the most necessary sinews of character, and one of the best instruments of success. Without it genius wastes its efforts in a maze of inconsistencies."
  • "Let your enemies be disarmed by the gentleness of your manner, but at the same time let them feel, the steadiness of your resentment."

When did Lord Chesterfield live?

Lord Chesterfield was born in 1694 and died in the year 1773.