Quotes by Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield

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

“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.”

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

“Women are only children of a larger growth. A man of sense only trifles with them, plays with them, humours and flatters them, as he does with a sprightly and forward child; but he neither consults...”

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

“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. ”

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

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

“The only solid and lasting peace between a man and his wife is, doubtless, a separation.”

“Whoever incites anger has a strong insurance against indifference.”

“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...”

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

“The idle story of the Pretender's having been introduced in a warming-pan, into the Queen's bed, though as destitute of all probability as of all foundation, has been much more prejudicial to the c...”

“I foresee, that before the end of this century, the trade of both King and Priest will not be half so good a one as it has been.”

“The chapter of knowledge is a very short, but the chapter of accidents is a very long one.”

“I assisted at the birth of that most significant word flirtation, which dropped from the most beautiful mouth in the world.”

“Unlike my subject will I frame my song, It shall be witty, and it shan't be long.”

“At twelve you may walk, for at this time o' the year, The sun like your wit, is as mild, as 'tis clear: But mark in the meadows the ruin of Time; Take the hint, and let life be improv'd in its prime.”

“Cheerful with wisdom, with innocence gay, And calm with your joys gently glide thro' the day. The dews of the evening most carefully shun — Those tears of the sky for the loss of the sun.”

“Then in chat, or at play, with a dance, or a song, Let the night, like the day, pass with pleasure along. All cares, but of love, banish far from your mind; And those you may end, when you please t...”