Lord Chesterfield (1694-1773)

Quotes

• He makes people pleased with him by making them first pleased with themselves.

• Whatever you do, do it to the purpose; do it thoroughly, not superficially. Go to the bottom of things. Any thing half done, or half known, is in my mind, neither done nor known at all. Nay, worse, for it often misleads.

• Be wiser than other people if you can, but do not tell them so.

• If you will please people, you must please them in your own way.

• [Common sense] is the best sense I know of.

• The knowledge of the world is only to be acquired in the world, and not in a closet.

• Wit is so shining a quality that everybody admires it; most people aim at it, all people fear it, and few love it unless in themselves.

• Be wiser than other people, if you can, but do not tell them so.

• Never seem more learned than the people you are with. Wear your learning like a pocket watch and keep it hidden. Do not pull it out to count the hours, but give the time when you are asked.

• Choose your pleasures for yourself, and do not let them be imposed upon you.

• Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness; no laziness; no procrastination; never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.

• There is hardly anybody good for everything, and there is scarcely anybody who is absolutely good for nothing.

• Modesty is the only sure bait when you angle for praise.

• Firmness of purpose is one of the most necessary sinews of character, and one of the best instruments of success. Without it genius wastes its efforts in a maze of inconsistencies.

• Honest error is to be pitied, not ridiculed.

• Little, vicious minds abound with anger and revenge, and are incapable of feeling the pleasure of forgiving their enemies.

• 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.

• Prepare yourself for the world, as the athletes used to do for their exercise; oil your mind and your manners, to give them the necessary suppleness and flexibility; strength alone will not do.

• I find, by experience, that the mind and the body are more than married, for they are most intimately united; and when one suffers, the other sympathizes.

• I recommend you to take care of the minutes, for the hours will take care of themselves.