I look upon indolence as a sort of suicide; for the man is effectually destroyed, though the appetites of the brute may survive. – Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
Never seem wiser, nor more learned, than the people you are with. Wear your learning, like your watch, in a private pocket: and do not merely pull it out and strike it; merely to show that you have one. – Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
A wise man will live as much within his wit as within his income. – Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
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. – Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
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. – Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
If you would convince others, seem open to conviction yourself. – Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
Being pretty on the inside means you don’t hit your brother and you eat all your peas – that’s what my grandma taught me. – Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
The mere brute pleasure of reading – the sort of pleasure a cow must have in grazing. – Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
Persist and persevere, and you will find most things that are attainable, possible. – Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
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. – Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
A weak mind is like a microscope, which magnifies trifling things, but cannot receive great ones. – Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
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. – Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
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. – Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
A novel must be exceptionally good to live as long as the average cat. – Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield