„I wish to God that you had as much pleasure in following my advice, as I have in giving it to you.“
— Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
5 February 1750
Letters to His Son on the Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman (1774)
Birthdate: 22. September 1694
Date of death: 24. March 1773
Other names: Philip Stanhope, Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4º Conde de Chesterfield, Philip Dormer Stanhope Chesterfield, Philip Stanhope Earl of Chesterfield, Philip Chesterfield, IV° Conte di Chesterfield, Philip Dormer Stanhope
Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, was a British statesman, diplomat, man of letters, and an acclaimed wit of his time. 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. Following the death of his mother in 1708, Stanhope was raised mainly by his grandmother, the Marchioness of Halifax. Educated at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, he left just over a year into his studies, after focusing on languages and oration. 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 the Renaissance, and to become acquainted with his aristocratic counterparts and the polite society of Continental Europe.In the course of his post-graduate tour of Europe, the death of Queen Anne and the accession of King George I to the throne opened a political career for Stanhope, and he quickly returned to England. A member of the Whig party, Phillip Stanhope entered government service as a courtier to the King, through the mentorship of his relative, James Stanhope, , the King's favourite minister, who procured his appointment as Lord of the Bedchamber to the Prince of Wales, George II. Wikipedia
— Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
5 February 1750
Letters to His Son on the Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman (1774)
— Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
19 December 1749
Letters to His Son on the Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman (1774)
Context: We must not suppose that, because a man is a rational animal, he will, therefore, always act rationally; or, because he has such or such a predominant passion, that he will act invariably and consequentially in pursuit of it. No, we are complicated machines; and though we have one main spring that gives motion to the whole, we have an infinity of little wheels, which, in their turns, retard, precipitate, and sometime stop that motion.
— Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
The French attribute this to the painter Nicolas Poussin (born 15 June 1594) "Ce qui vaut la peine d'être fait vaut la peine d'être bien fait"
Disputed
— Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
22 February 1748
Letters to His Son on the Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman (1774)
— Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
10 August 1749
Letters to His Son on the Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman (1774)
— Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
5 September 1748
Letters to His Son on the Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman (1774)
— Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
16 March 1752
Letters to His Son on the Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman (1774)
— Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
6 December 1748
Letters to His Son on the Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman (1774)
— Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
19 November 1745
Letters to His Son on the Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman (1774)
— Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
22 May 1749
Letters to His Son on the Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman (1774)
— Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
2 October 1747
Letters to His Son on the Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman (1774)
— Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
14 April 1747
Letters to His Son on the Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman (1774)
— Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
5 February 1750
Letters to His Son on the Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman (1774)
— Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
Generally attributed to Lord Chesterfield, the first publication of this yet located is in a section of proverbs called "Diamond Dust" in Eliza Cook's Journal, No. 98 (15 March 1851), with the first attribution to Chesterfield as yet located in: Many Thoughts of Many Minds (1862) edited by Henry Southgate
Disputed
— Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
19 December 1749
Letters to His Son on the Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman (1774)
— Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
1751
Letters to His Son on the Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman (1774)
— Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
15 January 1753
Letters to His Son on the Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman (1774)
— Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
9 March 1748
Letters to His Son on the Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman (1774)
— Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
2 October 1747
Letters to His Son on the Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman (1774)