Letters to His Son on the Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman, 1748 , livre ebook

Pub One Info - of Chesterfield Philip Dormer Stanhope Earl

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pubOne.info present you this new edition. DEAR BOY: I am edified with the allotment of your time at Leipsig; which is so well employed from morning till night, that a fool would say you had none left for yourself; whereas, I am sure you have sense enough to know, that such a right use of your time is having it all to yourself; nay, it is even more, for it is laying it out to immense interest, which, in a very few years, will amount to a prodigious capital.

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Publié par	Pub One Info
Date de parution	06 novembre 2010
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9782819947769
Langue	English

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LETTER XXIV
January 2, O. S. 1748.
DEAR BOY: I am edified with the allotment of yourtime at Leipsig; which is so well employed from morning till night,that a fool would say you had none left for yourself; whereas, I amsure you have sense enough to know, that such a right use of yourtime is having it all to yourself; nay, it is even more, for it islaying it out to immense interest, which, in a very few years, willamount to a prodigious capital.
Though twelve of your fourteen 'Commensaux' may notbe the liveliest people in the world, and may want (as I easilyconceive that they do) 'le ton de la bonne campagnie, et lesgraces', which I wish you, yet pray take care not to express anycontempt, or throw out any ridicule; which I can assure you, is notmore contrary to good manners than to good sense: but endeavorrather to get all the good you can out of them; and something orother is to be got out of everybody. They will, at least, improveyou in the German language; and, as they come from differentcountries, you may put them upon subjects, concerning which theymust necessarily be able to give you some useful informations, letthem be ever so dull or disagreeable in general: they will knowsomething, at least, of the laws, customs, government, andconsiderable families of their respective countries; all which arebetter known than not, and consequently worth inquiring into. Thereis hardly any body good for every thing, and there is scarcely anybody who is absolutely good for nothing. A good chemist willextract some spirit or other out of every substance; and a man ofparts will, by his dexterity and management, elicit something worthknowing out of every being he converses with.
As you have been introduced to the Duchess ofCourland, pray go there as often as ever your more necessaryoccupations will allow you. I am told she is extremely well bred,and has parts. Now, though I would not recommend to you, to go intowomen's company in search of solid knowledge, or judgment, yet ithas its use in other respects; for it certainly polishes themanners, and gives 'une certaine tournure', which is very necessaryin the course of the world; and which Englishmen have generallyless of than any people in the world.
I cannot say that your suppers are luxurious, butyou must own they are solid; and a quart of soup, and two pounds ofpotatoes, will enable you to pass the night without greatimpatience for your breakfast next morning. One part of your supper(the potatoes) is the constant diet of my old friends andcountrymen, — [Lord Chesterfield, from the time he wasappointed Lord-lieutenant of Ireland, 1775, used always to call theIrish his countrymen. ] — the Irish, who are the healthiestand the strongest bodies of men that I know in Europe.
As I believe that many of my letters to you and toMr. Harte have miscarried, as well as some of yours and his to me;particularly one of his from Leipsig, to which he refers in asubsequent one, and which I never received; I would have you, forthe future, acknowledge the dates of all the letters which eitherof you shall receive from me; and I will do the same on mypart.
That which I received by the last mail, from you,was of the 25th November, N. S. ; the mail before that brought meyours, of which I have forgot the date, but which inclosed one toLady Chesterfield: she will answer it soon, and, in the mean time,thanks you for it.
My disorder was only a very great cold, of which Iam entirely recovered. You shall not complain for want of accountsfrom Mr. Grevenkop, who will frequently write you whatever passeshere, in the German language and character; which will improve youin both. Adieu.
LETTER XXV
LONDON, January 15, O. S. 1748.
DEAR BOY: I willingly accept the new-year's giftwhich you promise me for next year; and the more valuable you makeit, the more thankful I shall be. That depends entirely upon you;and therefore I hope to be presented, every year, with a newedition of you, more correct than the former, and considerablyenlarged and amended.
Since you do not care to be an assessor of theimperial chamber, and that you desire an establishment in England;what do you think of being Greek Professor at one of ouruniversities? It is a very pretty sinecure, and requires verylittle knowledge (much less than, I hope, you have already) of thatlanguage. If you do not approve of this, I am at a loss to knowwhat else to propose to you; and therefore desire that you willinform me what sort of destination you propose for yourself; for itis now time to fix it, and to take our measures accordingly. Mr.Harte tells me that you set up for a— — — — — ; if so, I presume itis in the view of succeeding me in my office; — [A secretaryof state. ] — which I will very willingly resign to you,whenever you shall call upon me for it. But, if you intend to bethe— — — — , or the— — — — — -, there are some triflingcircumstances upon which you should previously take yourresolution. The first of which is, to be fit for it: and then, inorder to be so, make yourself master of ancient and, modernhistory, and languages. To know perfectly the constitution, andform of government of every nation; the growth and the decline ofancient and modern empires; and to trace out and reflect upon thecauses of both. To know the strength, the riches, and the commerceof every country. These little things, trifling as they may seem,are yet very necessary for a politician to know; and whichtherefore, I presume, you will condescend to apply yourself to.There are some additional qualifications necessary, in thepractical part of business, which may deserve some consideration inyour leisure moments; such as, an absolute command of your temper,so as not to be provoked to passion, upon any account; patience, tohear frivolous, impertinent, and unreasonable applications; withaddress enough to refuse, without offending, or, by your manner ofgranting, to double the obligation; dexterity enough to conceal atruth without telling a lie; sagacity enough to read other people'scountenances; and serenity enough not to let them discover anythingby yours; a seeming frankness with a real reserve. These are therudiments of a politician; the world must be your grammar.
Three mails are now due from Holland; so that I haveno letters from you to acknowledge. I therefore conclude withrecommending myself to your favor and protection when you succeed.Yours.
LETTER XXVI
LONDON, January 29, O. S. 1748.
DEAR BOY: I find, by Mr. Harte's last letter, thatmany of my letters to you and him, have been frozen up on their wayto Leipsig; the thaw has, I suppose, by this time, set them atliberty to pursue their journey to you, and you will receive a glutof them at once. Hudibras alludes, in this verse,
“Like words congealed in northern air, ”
to a vulgar notion, that in Greenland words werefrozen in their utterance; and that upon a thaw, a very mixedconversation was heard in the air, of all those words set atliberty. This conversation was, I presume, too various andextensive to be much attended to: and may not that be the case ofhalf a dozen of my long letters, when you receive them all at once?I think that I can, eventually, answer that question, thus: If youconsider my letters in their true light, as conveying to you theadvice of a friend, who sincerely wishes your happiness, anddesires to promote your pleasure, you will both read and attend tothem; but, if you consider them in their opposite, and very falselight, as the dictates of a morose and sermonizing father, I amsure they will be not only unattended to, but unread. Which is thecase, you can best tell me. Advice is seldom welcome; and those whowant it the most always like it the least. I hope that your want ofexperience, of which you must be conscious, will convince you, thatyou want advice; and that your good sense will incline you tofollow it.
Tell me how you pass your leisure hours at Leipsig;I know you have not many; and I have too good an opinion of you tothink, that, at this age, you would desire more. Have youassemblies, or public spectacles? and of what kind are they?Whatever they are, see them all; seeing everything, is the only waynot to admire anything too much.
If you ever take up little tale-books, to amuse youby snatches, I will recommend two French books, which I havealready mentioned; they will entertain you, and not without someuse to your mind and your manners. One is, 'La Maniere de bienpenser dans les Ouvrages d'Esprit', written by Pere Bouhours; Ibelieve you read it once in England, with Monsieur Coderc; but Ithink that you will do well to read it again, as I know of no bookthat will form your taste better. The other is, 'L'Art de plairedans la Conversation', by the Abbe de Bellegarde, and is by nomeans useless, though I will not pretend to say, that the art ofpleasing can be reduced to a receipt; if it could, I am sure thatreceipt would be worth purchasing at any price. Good sense, andgood nature, are the principal ingredients; and your ownobservation, and the good advice of others, must give the rightcolor and taste to it. Adieu! I shall always love you as you shalldeserve.
LETTER XXVII
LONDON, February 9, O. S. 1748.
DEAR BOY: You will receive this letter, not from aSecretary of State but from a private man; for whom, at his time oflife, quiet was as fit, and as necessary, as labor and activity arefor you at your age, and for many years yet to come. I resigned theseals, last Saturday, to the King; who parted with me mostgraciously, and (I may add, for he said so himself) with regret. AsI retire from hurry to quiet, and to enjoy, at my ease, thecomforts of private and social life, you will easily imagine that Ihave no thoughts of opposition, or meddling with business. 'Otiumcum dignitate' is my object. The former I now enjoy; and I hopethat my conduct and character entitle me to some share of thelatter. In short, I am now happy: and I found that I could not beso in my former public sit