Philip Stanhope (1694 – 1773)
British statesman and man of letters.
It is a great advantage for any man to be able to talk or hear, neither ignorantly nor absurdly, upon any subject; for I have known people, who have not said one word, hear ignorantly and absurdly; it has appeared by their inattentive and unmeaning faces.
Little minds mistake little objects for great ones, and lavish away upon the former that time and attention which only the latter deserve. To such mistakes we owe the numerous and frivolous tribe of insect-mongers, shell-mongers, and pursuers and driers of butterflies, etc. The strong mind distinguishes, not only between the useful and the useless, but likewise between the useful and the curious.
The nation looked upon him as a deserter, and he shrunk into insignificancy and an earldom.
The herd of mankind can hardly be said to think; their notions are almost all adoptive; and, in general, I believe it is better that it should be so; as such common prejudices contribute more to order and quiet, than their own separate reasonings would do, uncultivated and unimproved as they are.
Women are much more like each other than men: they have, in truth, but two passions, vanity and love; these are their universal characteristics.
Manners must adorn knowledge, and smooth its way through the world. Like a great rough diamond, it may do very well in a closet by way of curiosity, and also for its intrinsic value.
Speak of the moderns without contempt, and of the ancients without idolatry.
Without some dissimulation no business can be carried on at all.
Our conjectures pass upon us for truths; we will know what we do not know, and often, what we cannot know: so mortifying to our pride is the base suspicion of ignorance.
He adorned whatever subject he either spoke or wrote upon, by the most splendid eloquence.
I wish to God that you had as much pleasure in following my advice, as I have in giving it to you.
The characteristic of a well-bred man is, to converse with his inferiors without insolence, and with his superiors with respect and with ease.
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.
I assisted at the birth of that most significant word "flirtation," which dropped from the most beautiful mouth in the world.
The knowledge of the world is only to be acquired in the world, and not in a closet.
The chapter of knowledge is a very short, but the chapter of accidents is a very long one.
There are some occasions in which a man must tell half his secret, in order to conceal the rest; but there is seldom one in which a man should tell all. Great skill is necessary to know how far to go, and where to stop.