Famous Lord Chesterfield Quotations

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"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."
by Lord Chesterfield
"A constant smirk upon the face, and a whiffing activity of the body, are strong indications of futility."
by Lord Chesterfield
"Custom has made dancing sometimes necessary for a young man; therefore mind it while you learn it, that you may learn to do it well, and not be ridiculous, though in a ridiculous act."
by Lord Chesterfield
"Learning is acquired by reading books, but the much more necessary learning, the knowledge of the world, is only to be acquired by reading men, and studying all the various facets of them."
by Lord Chesterfield
"No man tastes pleasures truly, who does not earn them by previous business; and few people do business well, who do nothing else."
by Lord Chesterfield
"Politeness is as much concerned in answering letters within a reasonable time, as it is in returning a bow, immediately."
by Lord Chesterfield
"Modesty is the only sure bait when you angle for praise."
by Lord Chesterfield
"For my own part, I would rather be in company with a dead man than with an absent one; for if the dead man gives me no pleasure, at least he shows me no contempt; whereas the absent one, silently indeed, but very plainly, tells me that he does not think me worth his attention."
by Lord Chesterfield
"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."
by Lord Chesterfield
"[Common sense] is the best sense I know of."
by Lord Chesterfield
"A chapter of accidents."
by Lord Chesterfield
"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."
by Lord Chesterfield
"An injury is much sooner forgotten than an insult."
by Lord Chesterfield
"Be wiser than other people, if you can, but do not tell them so."
by Lord Chesterfield
"Being pretty on the inside means you don't hit your brother and you eat all your peas - that's what my grandma taught me."
by Lord Chesterfield
"Choose your pleasures for yourself, and do not let them be imposed upon you."
by Lord Chesterfield
"Common sense is the best sense I know of."
by Lord Chesterfield
"Good humor is the health of the soul, sadness is its poison."
by Lord Chesterfield
"I am convinced that a light supper, a good night's sleep, and a fine morning, have sometimes made a hero of the same man, who, by an indigestion, a restless night, and rainy morning, would have proved a coward."
by Lord Chesterfield
"I recommend you to take care of the minutes, for the hours will take care of themselves."
by Lord Chesterfield
"I recommend that you take care of the minutes, for the hours will take care of themselves."
by Lord Chesterfield
"If you are not in fashion, you are nobody."
by Lord Chesterfield
"In seeking wisdom thou art wise; in imagining that thou hast attained it - thou art a fool."
by Lord Chesterfield
"It is by vivacity and wit that man shines in company; but trite jokes and loud laughter reduce him to a buffoon"
by Lord Chesterfield
"It must be owned, that the Graces do not seem to be natives of Great Britain; and I doubt, the best of us here have more of rough than polished diamond."
by Lord Chesterfield
"Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness; no laziness; no procrastination; never put off till tomorrow what you can do today."
by Lord Chesterfield
"Know the true value of time snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness no laziness no procrastination never put off till tomorrow what you can do today."
by Lord Chesterfield
"Most people enjoy the inferiority of their friends."
by Lord Chesterfield
"Sex: the pleasure is momentary, the position ridiculous, and the expense damnable."
by Lord Chesterfield
"Swift speedy time, feathered with flying hours, Dissolves the beauty of the fairest brow."
by Lord Chesterfield
"The knowledge of the world is only to be acquired in the world, and not in a closet."
by Lord Chesterfield
"The world is a country which nobody ever yet knew by description; one must travel through it one's self to be acquainted with it"
by Lord Chesterfield
"There is hardly anybody good for everything, and there is scarcely anybody who is absolutely good for nothing."
by Lord Chesterfield
"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."
by Lord Chesterfield
"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."
by Lord Chesterfield
"Women, and young men, are very apt to tell what secrets they know, from the vanity of having been trusted"
by Lord Chesterfield
"You must look into people as well as at them."
by Lord Chesterfield
"Good breeding is the result of good sense, some good nature, and a little self-denial for the sake of others."
by Lord Chesterfield
"The scholar without good breeding is a nitpicker; the philosopher a cynic; the soldier a brute and everyone else disagreeable."
by Lord Chesterfield
"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."
by Lord Chesterfield
"Men will not believe because they will not broaden their minds."
by Lord Chesterfield
"Speak of the moderns without contempt, and of the ancients without idolatry."
by Lord Chesterfield
"Character must be kept bright as well as clean."
by Lord Chesterfield
"You must look into people, as well as at them."
by Lord Chesterfield
"Take the tone of the company you are in."
by Lord Chesterfield
"Never hold anyone by the button or the hand in order to be heard out; for if people are unwilling to hear you, you had better hold your tongue than them."
by Lord Chesterfield
"The only solid and lasting peace between a man and his wife is, doubtless, a separation."
by Lord Chesterfield
"Our own self-love draws a thick veil between us and our faults."
by Lord Chesterfield
"There is a sort of veteran woman of condition, who, having lived always in the grand monde, and having possibly had some gallantries, together with the experience of five and twenty or thirty years, form a young fellow better than all the rules that can be given him. Wherever you go, make some of those women your friends; which a very little matter will do. Ask their advice, tell them your doubts or difficulties as to your behavior; but take great care not to drop one word of their experience; for experience implies age, and the suspicion of age, no woman, let her be ever so old, ever forgives."
by Lord Chesterfield
"When a person is in fashion, all they do is right."
by Lord Chesterfield
"The difference between a man of sense and a fop is that the fop values himself upon his dress; and the man of sense laughs at it, at the same time he knows he must not neglect it."
by Lord Chesterfield
"Any affectation whatsoever in dress implies, in my mind, a flaw in the understanding."
by Lord Chesterfield
"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."
by Lord Chesterfield
"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."
by Lord Chesterfield
"History is but a confused heap of facts."
by Lord Chesterfield
"A wise man will live as much within his wit as within his income."
by Lord Chesterfield
"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."
by Lord Chesterfield
"Inferiority is what you enjoy in your best friends."
by Lord Chesterfield
"Knowledge of the world in only to be acquired in the world, and not in a closet."
by Lord Chesterfield
"Knowledge may give weight, but accomplishments give luster, and many more people see than weigh."
by Lord Chesterfield
"Observe it, the vulgar often laugh, but never smile, whereas well-bred people often smile, and seldom or never laugh. A witty thing never excited laughter, it pleases only the mind and never distorts the countenance."
by Lord Chesterfield
"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."
by Lord Chesterfield
"Frequent and loud laughter is the characteristic of folly and ill manners."
by Lord Chesterfield
"Manners must adorn knowledge, and smooth its way through the world."
by Lord Chesterfield
"Ceremony is necessary as the outwork and defense of manners."
by Lord Chesterfield
"A man's own good breeding is the best security against other people's ill manners."
by Lord Chesterfield
"Patience is the most necessary quality for business, many a man would rather you heard his story than grant his request."
by Lord Chesterfield
"Persist and persevere, and you will find most things that are attainable, possible."
by Lord Chesterfield
"Horse-play, romping, frequent and loud fits of laughter, jokes, and indiscriminate familiarity, will sink both merit and knowledge into a degree of contempt. They compose at most a merry fellow; and a merry fellow was never yet a respectable man."
by Lord Chesterfield
"Buy good books, and read them; the best books are the commonest, and the last editions are always the best, if the editors are not blockheads."
by Lord Chesterfield
"Let blockheads read what blockheads wrote."
by Lord Chesterfield
"If you can once engage people's pride, love, pity, ambition (or whatever is their prevailing passion) on your side, you need not fear what their reason can do against you."
by Lord Chesterfield
"Lord Tyrawley and I have been dead these two years, but we don't choose to have it known."
by Lord Chesterfield
"It is commonly said that ridicule is the best test of truth; for that it will not stick where it is not just. I deny it. A truth learned in a certain light, and attacked in certain words, by men of wit and humor, may, and often doth, become ridiculous, at least so far, that the truth is only remembered and repeated for the sake of the ridicule."
by Lord Chesterfield
"In the case of scandal, as in that of robbery, the receiver is always thought as bad as the thief."
by Lord Chesterfield
"The pleasure is momentary, the position ridiculous, and the expense damnable."
by Lord Chesterfield
"Most people have ears, but few have judgment; tickle those ears, and depend upon it, you will catch those judgments, such as they are."
by Lord Chesterfield
"Vice, in its true light, is so deformed, that it shocks us at first sight; and would hardly ever seduce us, if it did not at first wear the mask of some virtue."
by Lord Chesterfield
"Let them show me a cottage where there are not the same vices of which they accuse the courts."
by Lord Chesterfield
"Young men are apt to think themselves wise enough, as drunken men are apt to think themselves sober enough."
by Lord Chesterfield


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