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

Abject flattery and indiscriminate assentation degrade, as much as indiscriminate contradiction and noisy debate disgust. But a modest assertion of one's own opinion, and a complaisant acquiescence in other people's, preserve dignity. (Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield)
We must not draw general conclusions from certain particular principles, though, in the main, true ones. 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 the 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 sometimes stop that motion. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
Let blockheads read what blockheads wrote. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
You had better refuse a favor gracefully, than to grant it clumsily. Manner is all, in everything: it is by manner only that you can please, and consequently rise. All your Greek will never advance you from secretary to envoy, or from envoy to ambassador; but your address, your manner, your air, if good, very probably may. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
It is commonly said, and more particularly by Lord Shaftesbury, that ridicule is the best test of truth. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
Every woman is infallibly to be gained by every sort of flattery, and every man by one sort or other. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
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. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
There are some occasions in which a man must tell half his secret, in order to conceal the rest; but there is seldom one in which a man should tell all. Great skill is necessary to know how far to go, and where to stop. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
The reputation of generosity is to be purchased pretty cheap; it does not depend so much upon a man's general expense, as it does upon his giving handsomely where it is proper to give at all. A man, for instance, who should give a servant four shillings, would pass for covetous, while he who gave him a crown, would be reckoned generous; so that the difference of those two opposite characters, turns upon one shilling. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
You foolish man, you do not understand your own foolish business. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
Patience is the most necessary quality for business, many a man would rather you heard his story than grant his request. (Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of 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. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
Men, as well as women, are much oftener led by their hearts than by their understandings. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
The only solid and lasting peace between a man and his wife is, doubtless, a separation. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
Young men are apt to think themselves wise enough, as drunken men are apt to think themselves sober enough. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
Modesty is the only sure bait when you angle for praise. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
Character must be kept bright as well as clean. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
I look upon indolence as a sort of suicide. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
Ridicule is the best test of truth. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
Inferiority is what you enjoy in your best friends. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of 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. (Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield)
Honest error is to be pitied, not ridiculed. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
To govern mankind, one must not overrate them. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
Frequent and loud laughter is the characteristic of folly and ill manners. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
I sometimes give myself admirable advice, but I am incapable of taking it. View quote
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield