110+ Lord Chesterfield Quotes On Education, Slavery And Government

Lord Chesterfield was a British statesman and politician who served as Secretary of State for the Southern Department between 1746 and 1748. He was a prominent figure in the Whig party and was a vocal supporter of Prime Minister Robert Walpole. He was also a noted wit and writer, most famously known for his letters of advice to his son. Following is our collection on famous quotes by Lord Chesterfield on education, slavery, government.

Top 10 Lord Chesterfield Quotes

1. If we do not plant knowledge when young, it will give us no shade when we are old.
2. As fathers commonly go, it is seldom a misfortune to be fatherless; and considering the general run of sons, as seldom a misfortune to be childless.
3. The mere brute pleasure of reading - the sort of pleasure a cow must have in grazing.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. A man's own good breeding is the best security against other people's ill manners.
7. Modesty is the only sure bait when you angle for praise.
8. I recommend you to take care of the minutes, for the hours will take care of themselves.
9. A weak mind is like a microscope, which magnifies trifling things, but cannot receive great ones.
10. You must look into people, as well as at them.

Lord Chesterfield Short Quotes

• If you have an hour, will you not improve that hour, instead of idling it away?
• Good humor is the health of the soul, sadness is its poison.
• An injury is much sooner forgotten than an insult.
• Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it.
• Wrongs are often forgiven; but contempt never is. Our pride remembers it forever.
• Artichoke: That vegetable of which one has more at the finish than at the start of dinner.
• Persist and persevere, and you will find most things that are attainable, possible.
• Firmness of purpose is one of the best instruments of success.
• The more one works, the more willing one is to work.
• Character must be kept bright as well as clean.

Lord Chesterfield Quotes About Education

Vulgarism in language is the distinguishing characteristic of bad company, and a bad education. A man of fashion avoids nothing with more care than that. Proverbial expressions, and trite sayings, are the flowers of the rhetoric of vulgar man. — Lord Chesterfield

We are really so prejudiced by our educations, that, as the ancients deified their heroes, we deify their madmen. — Lord Chesterfield

Knowledge is a comfortable and necessary retreat and shelter for us in an advanced age; and if we do not plant it while young, it will give us no shade when we grow old. — Lord Chesterfield

Lord Chesterfield Quotes About Government

Absolute power can only be supported by error, ignorance and prejudice. — Lord Chesterfield

Learn to shrink yourself to the size of the company you are in. Take their tone, whatever it may be, and excell in it if you can;but never pretend to give the tone. A free conversation will no more bear a dictator than a free government will. — Lord Chesterfield

To govern mankind, one must not overrate them. — Lord Chesterfield

Lord Chesterfield Quotes About Love

Our own self-love draws a thick veil between us and our faults. — Lord Chesterfield

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

Women are much more like each other than men: they have, in truth, but two passions, vanity and love; these are their universal characteristics. — Lord Chesterfield

If you can once engage people's pride, love, pity, ambition on your side, you need not fear what their reason can do against you. — Lord Chesterfield

Love has been not unaptly compared to the small-pox, which most people have sooner or later. — Lord Chesterfield

If you can once engage people's pride, love, pity, ambition (or whatever is their prevailing passion) on your side, you need not fear what their reason can do against you. — Lord Chesterfield

An honest man may really love a pretty girl, but only an idiot marries her merely because she is pretty. — Lord Chesterfield

Distrust all those who love you extremely upon a very slight acquaintance and without any visible reason. — Lord Chesterfield

You must labour to acquire that great and uncommon talent of hating with good breeding, and loving with prudence; to make no quarrel irreconcilable by silly and unnecessary indications of anger; and no friendship dangerous, in care it breaks, by a wanton, indiscreet, and unreserved confidence. — Lord Chesterfield

Lord Chesterfield Quotes About His Son

Lady ---- is safely delivered of a son, to the great joy of that noble family. The expression, of a woman's having brought her husband a son, seems to be a proper and cautious one; for it is never said, from whence. — Lord Chesterfield

Few fathers care much for their sons, or at least, most of them care more for their money. Of those who really love their sons, few know how to do it. — Lord Chesterfield

Anne of Austria (with great submission to a Crowned Head do I say it) was a B----. She had spirit and courage without parts, devotion without common morality, and lewdness without tenderness either to justify or to dignify it. Her two sons were no more Lewis the Thirteen's than they were mine. — Lord Chesterfield

Lord Chesterfield Quotes About People

The best way to compel weak-minded people to adopt our opinion, is to frighten them from all others, by magnifying their danger. — Lord Chesterfield

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

Most people enjoy the inferiority of their best friends. — Lord Chesterfield

Religion is by no means a proper subject of conversation in mixed company; it should only be treated among a very few people of learning, for mutual instruction. It is too awful and respectable a subject to become a familiar one. — Lord Chesterfield

Knowledge may give weight, but accomplishments give luster, and many more people see than weigh. — Lord Chesterfield

Be wiser than other people, if you can; but do not tell them so. — Lord Chesterfield

Observe any meetings of people, and you will always find their eagerness and impetuosity rise or fall in proportion to their numbers. — Lord Chesterfield

He makes people pleased with him by making them first pleased with themselves. — Lord Chesterfield

Polished brass will pass upon more people than rough gold. — Lord Chesterfield

The manner of your speaking is full as important as the matter, as more people have ears to be tickled than understandings to judge. — Lord Chesterfield

Lord Chesterfield Quotes About World

Manners must adorn knowledge and smooth its way in the world, without them it is like a great rough diamond, very well in a closet by way of curiosity, and also for its intrinsic value; but most prized when polished. — Lord Chesterfield

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

Loud laughter is the mirth of the mob, who are only pleased with silly things; for true Wit or good Sense never excited a laugh since the creation of the world. A man of parts and fashion is therefore often seen to smile, but never heard to laugh. — Lord Chesterfield

The world is a country which nobody ever yet knew by description; one must travel through it one's self to be acquainted with it. — Lord Chesterfield

Manners must adorn knowledge, and smooth its way through the world. — Lord Chesterfield

Remember, as long as you live, that nothing but strict truth can carry you through the world, with either your conscience or your honor unwounded. — Lord Chesterfield

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. — Lord Chesterfield

Second-rate knowledge, and middling talents, carry a man farther at courts, and in the busy part of the world, than superior knowledge and shining parts. — Lord 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. — Lord Chesterfield

Let us not only scatter benefits, but even strew flowers for our fellow-travellers, in the rugged ways of this wretched world. — Lord Chesterfield

Lord Chesterfield Quotes About Pleasure

For my own part, I would rather be in company with a dead man than with an absent one; for if the dead man gives me no pleasure, at least he shows me no contempt; whereas the absent one, silently indeed, but very plainly, tells me that he does not think me worth his attention. — Lord 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. — Lord Chesterfield

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. — Lord Chesterfield

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

Next to doing things that deserve to be written, nothing gets a man more credit, or gives him more pleasure than to write things that deserve to be read. — Lord Chesterfield

The pleasure is momentary, the position ridiculous, and the expense damnable. — Lord Chesterfield

Remember, that when I speak of pleasures I always mean the elegant pleasures of a rational being, and not the brutal ones of a swine. I mean la bonne chère, short of gluttony; wine, infinitely short of drunkenness; play, without the least gaming; and gallantry, without debauchery. — Lord Chesterfield

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

Enjoy pleasures, but let them be your own, and then you will taste them. — Lord Chesterfield

Pleasure is the rock which most young people split upon; they launch out with crowded sails in quest of it, but without a compassto direct their course, or reason sufficient to steer the vessel; for want of which, pain and shame, instead of pleasure, are the returns of their voyage. — Lord Chesterfield

Lord Chesterfield Quotes About Mind

Any affectation whatsoever in dress implies, in my mind, a flaw in the understanding. — Lord Chesterfield

Men will not believe because they will not broaden their minds. — Lord Chesterfield

Idleness is only the refuge of weak minds. — Lord Chesterfield

Observe it, the vulgar often laugh, but never smile, whereas well-bred people often smile, and seldom or never laugh. A witty thing never excited laughter, it pleases only the mind and never distorts the countenance. — Lord Chesterfield

Mind not only what people say, but how they say it; and if you have any sagacity, you may discover more truth by your eyes than by your ears. People can say what they will, but they cannot look just as they will; and their looks frequently (reveal) what their words are calculated to conceal. — Lord Chesterfield

Our prejudices are our mistresses; reason is at best our wife, very often heard indeed, but seldom minded. — Lord 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. — Lord Chesterfield

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

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. — Lord Chesterfield

Study the heart and the mind of man, and begin with your own. Meditation and reflection must lay the foundation of that knowledge, but experience and practice must, and alone can, complete it. — Lord Chesterfield

Lord Chesterfield Famous Quotes And Sayings

If a marriage is going to work well, it must be on a solid footing, namely money, and of that commodity it is the girl with the smallest dowry who, to my knowledge, consumes the most, to infuriate her husband. All the same, it is only fair that the marriage should pay for past pleasures, since it will scarcely procure any in the future. — Lord Chesterfield

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. — Lord Chesterfield

I really know nothing more criminal, more mean, and more ridiculous than lying. It is the production either of malice, cowardice, or vanity; and generally misses of its aim in every one of these views; for lies are always detected, sooner or later. — Lord 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. — Lord Chesterfield

Young men are apt to think themselves wise enough, as drunken men are apt to think themselves sober enough. — Lord Chesterfield

Most maxim-mongers have preferred the prettiness to the justness of a thought, and the turn to the truth; but I have refused myself to everything that my own experience did not justify and confirm. — Lord Chesterfield

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. — Lord Chesterfield

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

Wrongs are often forgiven, but contempt never is. Our pride remembers it forever. It implies a discovery of weakness, which we are more careful to conceal than a crime. Many a man will confess his crimes to a friend; but I never knew a man that would tell his silly weaknesses to his most intimate one. — Lord Chesterfield

Wear your learning like a watch and do not pull it out merely to show you have it. If you are asked for the time, tell it; but do not proclaim it hourly unasked. — Lord Chesterfield

Gold and silver are but merchandise, as well as cloth or linen; and that nation that buys the least, and sells the most, must always have the most money. — Lord 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. — Lord 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. — Lord Chesterfield

We are as often duped by diffidence as by confidence. — Lord Chesterfield

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

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

Style is the dress of thoughts, and let them be ever so just. — Lord Chesterfield

Judgment is not upon all occasions required, but discretion always is. — Lord Chesterfield

Truth, but not the whole truth, must be the invariable principle of every man who hath either religion, honour, or prudence. Thosewho violate it, may be cunning, but they are not able. Lies and perfidy are the refuge of fools and cowards. — Lord Chesterfield

The only solid and lasting peace between a man and his wife is, doubtless, a separation. — Lord Chesterfield

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

History is but a confused heap of facts. — Lord Chesterfield

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

Whoever is in a hurry shows that the thing he is about is too big for him. — Lord Chesterfield

If you would convince others, seem open to conviction yourself. — Lord Chesterfield

Women, then, are only children of a larger growth — Lord Chesterfield

In the ordinary course of things, how many succeed in society merely by virtue of their manners, while others, however meritorious, fail through lack of them? After all, it's only barbarians who wear uncut precious stones. — Lord Chesterfield

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

Inferiority is what you enjoy in your best friends. — Lord Chesterfield

A proper secrecy is the only mystery of able men; mystery is the only secrecy of weak and cunning ones. — Lord Chesterfield

Buy good books, and read them; the best books are the commonest, and the last editions are always the best, if the editors are not blockheads. — Lord Chesterfield

Common sense (which, in truth, is very uncommon) is the best sense I know of: abide by it; it will counsel you best. — Lord Chesterfield

I look upon indolence as a sort of suicide; for the man is effectually destroyed, though the appetites of the brute may survive. — Lord Chesterfield

I am convinced that a light supper, a good night's sleep, and a fine morning, have sometimes made a hero of the same man, who, by an indigestion, a restless night, and rainy morning, would have proved a coward. — Lord Chesterfield

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

People will no more advance their civility to a bear, than their money to a bankrupt. — Lord Chesterfield

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

In business be as able as you can, but do not be cunning; cunning is the dark sanctuary of incapacity. — Lord Chesterfield

Physical ills are the taxes laid upon this wretched life; some are taxed higher, and some lower, but all pay something. — Lord Chesterfield

Style is the dress of thoughts; and let them be ever so just, if your style is homely, coarse, and vulgar, they will appear to as much disadvantage, and be as ill received, as your person, though ever so well-proportioned, would if dressed in rags, dirt, and tatters. — Lord Chesterfield

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

Keep carefully not of all scrapes and quarrels. They lower a character extremely; and are particularly dangerous in France, wherea man is dishonoured by not resenting an affront, and utterly ruined by resenting it. — Lord Chesterfield

The less one has to do, the less time one finds to do it in. — Lord Chesterfield

A man of fashion never has recourse to proverbs, and vulgar aphorisms; uses neither favourite words nor hard words, but takes great care to speak very correctly and grammatically, and to pronounce properly; that is, according to the usage of the best companies. — Lord Chesterfield

Let blockheads read what blockheads wrote. — Lord Chesterfield

The only sure way of avoiding these evils [vanity and boasting] is never to speak of yourself at all. But when, historically, youare obliged to mention yourself, take care not to drop one single word that can directly or indirectly be construed as fishing for applause. — Lord Chesterfield

I look upon indolence as a sort of suicide. — Lord 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. — Lord Chesterfield

People will, in a great degree, and not without reason, form their opinion of you upon that which they have of your friends; and there is a Spanish proverb which says vry justly, 'Tell me whom you live with, and I will tell you who you are.' — Lord Chesterfield

Nature has hardly formed a woman ugly enough to be insensible to flattery upon her person. — Lord Chesterfield

Women who are either indisputably beautiful, or indisputably ugly, are best flattered upon the score of their understandings; but those who are in a state of mediocrity are best flattered upon their beauty, or at least their graces: for every woman who is not absolutely ugly, thinks herself handsome. — Lord Chesterfield

Whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well. — Lord Chesterfield

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. — Lord Chesterfield

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

Almost all men are born with every passion to some extent, but there is hardly a man who has not a dominant passion to which the others are subordinate. Discover this governing passion in every individual; and when you have found the master passion of a man, remember never to trust to him where that passion is concerned. — Lord Chesterfield

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. — Lord Chesterfield

In the case of scandal, as in that of robbery, the receiver is always thought as bad as the thief. — Lord 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. — Lord Chesterfield

If you are not in fashion, you are nobody. — Lord Chesterfield

Life Lessons by Lord Chesterfield

1. Lord Chesterfield taught the importance of etiquette and politeness, emphasizing the need to be respectful and courteous to others.
2. He also encouraged hard work and dedication to one's goals, stressing the need to be persistent and determined in order to achieve success.
3. Finally, he advocated for the importance of self-improvement, encouraging individuals to strive to become the best version of themselves.