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