Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield quotes - page 6

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)
Mark in the meadows the ruin of Time; Take the hint, and let life be improv'd in its prime. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
A man of sense only trifles with them, plays with them, humors and flatters them, as he does with a sprightly and forward child; but he neither consults them about, nor trusts them with, serious matters. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
Our prejudices are our mistresses; reason is at best our wife, very often heard indeed, but seldom minded. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
In those days he was wiser than he is now - he used frequently to take my advice. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
Whoever is in a hurry shows that the thing he is about is too big for him. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
Judgment is not upon all occasions required, but discretion always is. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
Know the true value of time snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
To take a wife merely as an agreeable and rational companion, will commonly be found to be a grand mistake. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
One should always think of what one is about when one is learning, one should not think of play and when one is at play, one should not think of one's learning. (Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield)
Mankind is made up of inconsistencies, and no man acts invariably up to his predominant character. The wisest man sometimes acts weakly, and the weakest sometimes wisely. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
In the mass of mankind, I fear, there is too great a majority of fools and knaves; who, singly from their number, must to a certain degree be respected, though they are by no means respectable. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
Nature has hardly formed a woman ugly enough to be insensible to flattery upon her person. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
Whenever I go to an opera, I leave my sense and reason at the door with my half guinea, and deliver myself up to my eyes and my ears. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of 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. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of 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. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of 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. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
The manner of a vulgar man has freedom without ease the manner of a gentleman, ease without freedom. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
It is by vivacity and wit that man shines in company but trite jokes and loud laughter reduce him to a buffoon. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
We are, in truth, more than half of what we are by imitation. (Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield)
If you will please people, you must please them in their own way. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of 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. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of 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. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
Good manners are the settled medium of social, as specie is of commercial, life returns are equally expected for both. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield