“The chapter of knowledge is a very short, but the chapter of accidents is a very long one.”

—  Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield

To Solomon Dayrolles (16 February 1753)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "The chapter of knowledge is a very short, but the chapter of accidents is a very long one." by Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield?
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield photo
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield 65
British statesman and man of letters 1694–1773

Related quotes

John Napier photo

“2. Proposition. The Seven Trumpets of the 8. and 9. chapters, and the Seven Vials of the 16. Chapter, are all one.”

John Napier (1550–1617) Scottish mathematician

A Plaine Discovery of the Whole Revelation of St. John (1593), The First and Introductory Treatise

Ben Croshaw photo

“"Those shells don't look very comfortable, miss." - Edited from the original script of the Little Mermaid (Chapter Eleven)”

Ben Croshaw (1983) English video game journalist

Fullyramblomatic Novels, Articulate Jim: A Search For Something

Deb Caletti photo

“Stories took twists and turns down fairy-tale paths or down very human everyday ones. You think you’re at the end of the book, and it’s only the end of a chapter.”

Deb Caletti (1963) American writer

Source: The Story of Us

Eoin Colfer photo

“In the Bernstein Manual there is a short chapter on undercover work. The first line says, in capital letters, AVOID UNDERCOVER WORK.”

Eoin Colfer book Half Moon Investigations

Half Moon Investigations (2006)

Thomas Szasz photo

“If, nevertheless, textbooks of pharmacology legitimately contain a chapter on drug abuse and drug addiction, then, by the same token, textbooks of gynecology and urology should contain a chapter on prostitution; textbooks of physiology, a chapter on perversion; textbooks of genetics, a chapter on the racial inferiority of Jews and Negroes.”

Thomas Szasz (1920–2012) Hungarian psychiatrist

Source: Ceremonial Chemistry (1974), p. 11.

Terry Pratchett photo

“Life doesn't happen in chapters — at least, not regular ones.”

Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) English author

On the lack of chapters in Discworld books, in an interview by Gavin J. Grant at Booksource.com (2008) http://www.booksense.com/people/archive/pratchettterry.jsp
General sources
Context: Life doesn't happen in chapters — at least, not regular ones. Nor do movies. Homer didn't write in chapters. I can see what their purpose is in children's books ("I'll read to the end of the chapter, and then you must go to sleep") but I'm blessed if I know what function they serve in books for adults.

David Lange photo

“After a very long year we've got a very short knight.”

David Lange (1942–2005) New Zealand politician and 32nd Prime Minister of New Zealand

On the knighthood of the rather short Sir Robert Muldoon in January 1984. Lange repeated the quote on U.S. television as an explanation of Sir Robert's dislike for him.
Source: Heinemann Dictionary of New Zealand Quotations (1988), p. 397.

Gary S. Becker photo

“An efficient marriage market develops ‘‘shadow’’ prices to guide participants to marriages that will maximize their expected well-being. These prices, central to the analysis in this chapter and the subsequent one, are responsible for the more powerful implications found in these chapters than in traditional discussions of marriage. Some other approaches are evaluated in Chapter 4.”

Gary S. Becker book A Treatise on the Family

Source: A Treatise on the Family, 1981, p. 39

Related topics