Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield: Trending quotes

“Religion is by no means a proper subject of conversation in a mixed company.”

Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield

Letter to his godson, No.112 (undated)

Religion

“Advice is seldom welcome; and those who want it the most always like it the least.”

Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield

29 January 1748
Letters to His Son on the Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman (1774)

“Marriage is the cure of love, and friendship the cure of marriage.”

Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield

Detached Thoughts http://books.google.com/books?id=vVdSAAAAcAAJ&q=%22Marriage+is+the+cure+of+love+and+friendship+the+cure+of+marriage%22&pg=PA384#v=onepage, first published in Letters and Works of Philip Dormer Stanhope, volume 5 (1847)

Love , Friendship , Marriage

“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)

God , Pleasure

“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.”

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.

Passion , Animals

“Women who are either indisputably beautiful, or indisputably ugly, are best flattered upon the score of their understandings; but those who are in a state of mediocrity are best flattered upon their beauty, or at least their graces; for every woman who is not absolutely ugly thinks herself handsome.”

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)

Women , Beauty , Understanding , Thinking

“Manners must adorn knowledge, and smooth its way through the world. Like a great rough diamond, it may do very well in a closet by way of curiosity, and also for its intrinsic value.”

Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield

1 July 1748
Letters to His Son on the Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman (1774)

World , Way , Knowledge

“It is a great advantage for any man to be able to talk or hear, neither ignorantly nor absurdly, upon any subject; for I have known people, who have not said one word, hear ignorantly and absurdly; it has appeared by their inattentive and unmeaning faces.”

Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield

11 May 1752
Letters to His Son on the Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman (1774)

People , Appearance

“The characteristic of a well-bred man is, to converse with his inferiors without insolence, and with his superiors with respect and with ease.”

Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield

17 March 1748
Letters to His Son on the Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman (1774)

“Women are much more like each other than men: they have, in truth, but two passions, vanity and love; these are their universal characteristics.”

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)

Love , Women , Men , Truth

“Every woman is infallibly to be gained by every sort of flattery, and every man by one sort or other.”

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)

“People will no more advance their civility to a bear, than their money to a bankrupt.”

Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield

25 December 1753
Letters to His Son on the Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman (1774)

Money , People

“It is an undoubted truth, that the less one has to do, the less time one finds to do it in. One yawns, one procrastinates, one can do it when one will, and therefore one seldom does it at all.”

Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield

Letter
Letters to His Son on the Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman (1774)

Truth , Time

“I assisted at the birth of that most significant word "flirtation," which dropped from the most beautiful mouth in the world.”

Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield

The World, No. 101 (5 December 1754)

World , Beauty , Birth

“I knew once a very covetous, sordid fellow, who used to say, "Take care of the pence, for the pounds will take care of themselves."”

Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield

6 November 1747
Letters to His Son on the Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman (1774)

“Then in chat, or at play, with a dance, or a song,
Let the night, like the day, pass with pleasure along.
All cares, but of love, banish far from your mind;
And those you may end, when you please to be kind.”

Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield

"Advice to a Lady in Autumn", published in A Collection of Poems in Six Volumes. By Several Hands. Vol. I. (1763), printed by J. Hughs, for R. and J. Dodsley

Love , Pleasure , Dance , Night

“Be wiser than other people if you can; but do not tell them so.”

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)

People , Wise

“Cheerful with wisdom, with innocence gay,
And calm with your joys gently glide thro' the day.
The dews of the evening most carefully shun —
Those tears of the sky for the loss of the sun.”

Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield

"Advice to a Lady in Autumn", published in A Collection of Poems in Six Volumes. By Several Hands. Vol. I. (1763), printed by J. Hughs, for R. and J. Dodsley

Wisdom , Tear , Loss , Sun

“Without some dissimulation no business can be carried on at all.”

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)

Business

“Mark in the meadows the ruin of Time;
Take the hint, and let life be improv'd in its prime.”

Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield

"Advice to a Lady in Autumn", published in A Collection of Poems in Six Volumes. By Several Hands. Vol. I. (1763), printed by J. Hughs, for R. and J. Dodsley

Life , Time