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Lord Chesterfield Quotes - Page 2

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Speak of the moderns without contempt and of the ancients without idolatry; judge them all by their merits, but not by their age

Speak of the moderns without contempt and of the ancients without idolatry; judge them all by their merits, but not by their age

Lord Chesterfield
Judging, Age, Merit
'Letters to his Son' (1774) 27 February 1748

Regularity in the hours of rising and retiring, perseverance in exercise, adaptation of dress to the variations of climate, simple and nutritious aliment, and temperance in all things are necessary branches of the regimen of health.

Lord Chesterfield
Fitness, Perseverance, Exercise

A judicious reticence is hard to learn, but it is one of the great lessons of life.

Lord Chesterfield
Life Lesson, Lessons, Reticence

Patience is the most necessary quality for business, many a man would rather you heard his story than grant his request.

Lord Chesterfield
Patience, Business, Men

The power of applying attention, steady and undissipated, to a single object, is the sure mark of superior genius.

Lord Chesterfield
Focus, Attention, Genius

The manner of your speaking is full as important as the matter, as more people have ears to be tickled than understandings to judge.

Lord Chesterfield
People, Judging, Understanding

You must be respectable, if you will be respected.

Lord Chesterfield
Respectable, Ifs
Lord Chesterfield, David Roberts (2008). “Lord Chesterfield's Letters”, p.197, Oxford University Press

We are as often duped by diffidence as by confidence.

Lord Chesterfield
Confidence, Diffidence
Lord Philip Dormer Stanhope Chesterfield, Philip Dormer Stanhope Earl of Chesterfield (1855). “The Works of Lord Chesterfield: Including His Letters to His Son, Etc : to which is Prefixed, an Original Life of the Author”, p.627

Let it be your maxim through life, to know all you can know, yourself; and never to trust implicitly to the information of others.

Lord Chesterfield
Trust, Knowledge, Independence
"Manners and speech or maxims extracted from Lord Chesterfield's letters to his son". Book by Lord Chesterfield, 1884.

Very ugly or very beautiful women should be flattered on their understanding, and mediocre ones on their beauty.

Lord Chesterfield
Beautiful, Understanding, Ugly

An able man shows his spirit by gentle words and resolute actions. He is neither hot nor timid.

Lord Chesterfield
Men, Able, Hot
Lord Chesterfield (2008). “The Modern Chesterfield”, p.246, Wildside Press LLC

Men, as well as women, are much oftener led by their hearts than by their understandings.

Lord Chesterfield
Inspirational, Heart, Men
Lord Philip Dormer Stanhope Chesterfield, Eugenia Stanhope (1827). “Letters Written by the Earl of Chesterfield to His Son”, p.290

The mere brute pleasure of reading - the sort of pleasure a cow must have in grazing.

Lord Chesterfield
Reading, Cows, Pleasure

Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it.

Lord Chesterfield
Inspirational, Positive, Time
Lord Philip Dormer Stanhope Chesterfield, Eugenia Stanhope (1827). “Letters Written by the Earl of Chesterfield to His Son”, p.130

Seek always for the best words and the happiest expression you can find.

Lord Chesterfield
Expression, Language
Lord Chesterfield (2008). “The Modern Chesterfield”, p.133, Wildside Press LLC

If you have an hour, will you not improve that hour, instead of idling it away?

Lord Chesterfield
Inspirational, Life, Growth

Physical ills are the taxes laid upon this wretched life; some are taxed higher, and some lower, but all pay something.

Lord Chesterfield
Health, Pay, Being Sick

If ever a man and his wife, or a man and his mistress, who pass nights as well as days together, absolutely lay aside all good breeding, their intimacy will soon degenerate into a coarse familiarity, infallibly productive of contempt or disgust.

Lord Chesterfield
Night, Men, Wife
Lord Chesterfield, David Roberts (2008). “Lord Chesterfield's Letters”, p.174, Oxford University Press

Speak the language of the company you are in; speak it purely, and unlarded with any other.

Lord Chesterfield
Language, Speak, Company
Lord Chesterfield, David Roberts (2008). “Lord Chesterfield's Letters”, p.67, Oxford University Press

Choose your pleasures for yourself, and do not let them be imposed upon you.

Lord Chesterfield
Pleasure
Lord Chesterfield (2008). “The Modern Chesterfield”, p.45, Wildside Press LLC

In matters of religion and matrimony I never give any advice; because I will not have anybody's torments in this world or the next laid to my charge.

Lord Chesterfield
Funny, Humorous, Giving
'Letters to Arthur Charles Stanhope, Esq.' (1817) Letter to A. C. Stanhope, 12 October 1765

The less one has to do, the less time one finds to do it in.

Lord Chesterfield
Inspirational, Funny, Life
Lord Philip Dormer Stanhope Chesterfield, Philip Dormer Stanhope Earl of Chesterfield (1855). “The Works of Lord Chesterfield: Including His Letters to His Son, Etc : to which is Prefixed, an Original Life of the Author”, p.533

Polished brass will pass upon more people than rough gold.

Lord Chesterfield
People, Gold, Appearance
Lord Philip Dormer Stanhope Chesterfield, Philip Dormer Stanhope Earl of Chesterfield (1855). “The Works of Lord Chesterfield: Including His Letters to His Son, Etc : to which is Prefixed, an Original Life of the Author”, p.150

If you have wit, use it to please and not to hurt: you may shine like the sun in the temperate zones without scorching.

Lord Chesterfield
Hurt, Humor, Shining
Lord Chesterfield, David Roberts (2008). “Lord Chesterfield's Letters”, p.93, Oxford University Press

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.

Lord Chesterfield
Forgiveness, Silly, Pride

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