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Quote by Lord Chesterfield

“Elegance of manner is the outgrowth of refined and exalted sense.”

Quote by Lord Chesterfield

Author

Lord Chesterfield

British statesman known for his epistolary works, which had a profound impact on 18th-century British society. more

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“The receipt to make a speaker, and an applauded one too, is short and easy. Take common sense quantum sufficit; add a little application to the rules and orders of the House [of Commons], throw obvious thoughts in a new light, and make up the whole with a large quantity of purity, correctness and elegancy of style. Take it for granted that by far the greatest part of mankind neither analyze nor search to the bottom; they are incapable of penetrating deeper than the surface.”

Source: Lord Chesterfield's Letters

“Everything is worth seeing once, and the more one sees the less one either wonders or admires.”

Wonder Seeing Experience Admire

Book:The Works of Lord Chesterfield: Including His Letters to His Son, Etc : to which is Prefixed, an Original Life of the Author

Source: The Works of Lord Chesterfield: Including His Letters to His Son, Etc : to which is Prefixed, an Original Life of the Author

“Experience only can teach men not to prefer what strikes them for the present moment, to what will have much greater weight with the them hereafter.”

Men Moments Teach Greater Experience Weight Strikes Present Moment Hereafter

Book:The Works of Lord Chesterfield: Including His Letters to His Son, Etc : to which is Prefixed, an Original Life of the Author

Source: The Works of Lord Chesterfield: Including His Letters to His Son, Etc : to which is Prefixed, an Original Life of the Author

“Young men are as apt to think themselves wise enough, as drunken men are to think themselves sober enough. They look upon spirit to be a much better thing than experience; which they call coldness. They are but half mistaken; for though spirit without experience is dangerous, experience without spirit is languid and ineffective.”

Thinking Men Looks Enough Young Spirit Half Wise Dangerous Experience Young Man Look Up Mistaken Sober Coldness

Book:The Works of Lord Chesterfield: Including His Letters to His Son, Etc : to which is Prefixed, an Original Life of the Author

Source: The Works of Lord Chesterfield: Including His Letters to His Son, Etc : to which is Prefixed, an Original Life of the Author

“Cottages have them (falsehood and dissimulation) as well as courts, only with worse manners.”

Wells Court Manners Falsehood Cottages

Author:Lord Chesterfield

“Fear invites danger; concealed cowards insult known ones.”

Fear Known Danger Insult Coward Invites Concealed

Author:Lord Chesterfield

“Very ugly or very beautiful women should be flattered on their understanding, and mediocre ones on their beauty.”

Should Beautiful Understanding Ugly Mediocre Flattery Beautiful Women Very Beautiful Flattered

Author:Lord Chesterfield

“In your friendships and in your enmities let your confidence and your hostilities have certain bounds; make not the former dangerous, nor the latter irreconcilable. There are strange vicissitudes in business.”

Certain Friendship Dangerous Strange Bounds Former Latter Hostility Enmity Vicissitudes

Book:The Modern Chesterfield

Source: The Modern Chesterfield

“The most familiar and intimate habitudes, connections, friendships, require a degree of good-breeding both to preserve and cement them.”

Friendship Degrees Connections Familiar Preserves Intimate Breeding Cement Good Breeding

Book:Lord Chesterfield's Letters

Source: Lord Chesterfield's Letters

“A gentleman has ease without familiarity, is respectful without meanness; genteel without affectation, insinuating without seeming art.”

Art Manners Ease Gentleman Familiarity Respectful Seeming Meanness

Author:Lord Chesterfield