Lord Chesterfield's Quotes

In matters of religion and matrimony I never give any advice; because I will not have anybody's torments in this world or the next laid to my charge.

In my mind, there is nothing so illiberal, and so ill-bred, as audible laughter.

In those days he was wiser than he is now - he used frequently to take my advice.

Knowledge of the world in only to be acquired in the world, and not in a closet.

Let them show me a cottage where there are not the same vices of which they accuse the courts.

Men, as well as women, are much oftener led by their hearts than by their understandings.

Politicians neither love nor hate. Interest, not sentiment, directs them.

Swift speedy time, feathered with flying hours, Dissolves the beauty of the fairest brow.

The more one works, the more willing one is to work.

The rich are always advising the poor, but the poor seldom return the compliment.

To govern mankind, one must not overrate them.

To have frequent recourse to narrative betrays great want of imagination.

Wear your learning like your watch, in a private pocket; and do not pull it out, and strike it, merely to show that you have one.

When a person is in fashion, all they do is right.

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.

The difference between a man of sense and a fop is that the fop values himself upon his dress; and the man of sense laughs at it, at the same time he knows he must not neglect it.

Pleasure is a necessary reciprocal. No one feels, who does not at the same time give it. To be pleased, one must please. What pleases you in others, will in general please them in you.

Custom has made dancing sometimes necessary for a young man; therefore mind it while you learn it, that you may learn to do it well, and not be ridiculous, though in a ridiculous act.

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.

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.

I am very sure that any man of common understanding may, by culture, care, attention, and labor, make himself what- ever he pleases, except a great poet.

Vice, in its true light, is so deformed, that it shocks us at first sight; and would hardly ever seduce us, if it did not at first wear the mask of some virtue.

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. A man must have a good share of wit himself to endure a great share of it in another.

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

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.

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.

Whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well.

Good humor is the health of the soul, sadness is its poison.

In seeking wisdom thou art wise; in imagining that thou hast attained it - thou art a fool.

The heart never grows better by age; I fear rather worse, always harder. A young liar will be an old one, and a young knave will only be a greater knave as he grows older.

A weak mind is like a microscope, which magnifies trifling things, but cannot receive great ones.

Let your enemies be disarmed by the gentleness of your manner, but at the same time let them feel, the steadiness of your resentment.

Hear one side and you will be in the dark. Hear both and all will be clear.

An injury is much sooner forgotten than an insult.

Advice is seldom welcome, and those who need it the most, like it the least.

There is nothing that people bear more impatiently, or forgive less, than contempt: and an injury is much sooner forgotten than an insult.

Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.

Sex: the pleasure is momentary, the position ridiculous, and the expense damnable.

Persist and persevere, and you will find most things that are attainable, possible.

If ever a man and his wife, or a man and his mistress, who pass nights as well as days together, absolutely lay aside all good breeding, their intimacy will soon degenerate into a coarse familiarity, infallibly productive of contempt or disgust.

Frequent and loud laughter is the characteristic of folly and ill manners.

Regularity in the hours of rising and retiring, perseverance in exercise, adaptation of dress to the variations of climate, simple and nutritious aliment, and temperance in all things are necessary branches of the regimen of health.

A wise man will live as much within his wit as within his income.

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

Patience is the most necessary quality for business, many a man would rather you heard his story than grant his request.

Good breeding is the result of good sense, some good nature, and a little self-denial for the sake of others.

A novel must be exceptionally good to live as long as the average cat.

The mere brute pleasure of reading - the sort of pleasure a cow must have in grazing.