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Letters to His Son and Others
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
344 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1963
About the author
Philip Dormer Stanhope
888 books27 followersPhilip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield PC KG was a British statesman and man of letters.
A Whig, Lord Stanhope, as he was known until his father's death in 1726, was born in London, and educated at Cambridge and then went on the Grand Tour of the continent. The death of Anne and the accession of George I opened up a career for him and brought him back to England. His relative James Stanhope, the king's favourite minister, procured for him the place of gentleman of the bedchamber to the Prince of Wales.
A Whig, Lord Stanhope, as he was known until his father's death in 1726, was born in London, and educated at Cambridge and then went on the Grand Tour of the continent. The death of Anne and the accession of George I opened up a career for him and brought him back to England. His relative James Stanhope, the king's favourite minister, procured for him the place of gentleman of the bedchamber to the Prince of Wales.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 19, 2020
This volume of letters written by Lord Chesterfield leaves me with a myriad of emotions and opinions. There are many letters in which you get a sense of fatherly love and affection. You really believe that he wants the best for his son and wishes he invests his time wisely in order to enjoy dividends when he is released into the world. Other letters are downright brutal; paternalism to the utmost extreme.
A lot (perhaps the majority) of the letters' lessons are outdated and antiquated. This is of no fault to LC, as one can only write within one's times. But for the 21st century reader: you will eye roll, scoff, and laugh at certain the passages. His extreme, overbearing minutiae is breathtaking. It is ironic that his son, to which all these letters were addressed to, amounted to nothing extraordinary. He met a women and had two children secretly without his father knowing, lived a rather domestic life, and was dead at 36. I felt utter sympathy for the poor boy. He must have felt pinned and crushed underneath his father's impossible expectations. A father who expected nothing short of a perfect specimen of a human being. If his son exhibited anything otherwise, he would alert him voraciously. I wonder if Lord Chesterfield, burying his dead son, regretted at least a bit of his treatment.
HOWEVER, I will say I enjoyed the book, for the reader will be comforted that there are still numerous ideas, suggestions, and discourses that are ultimately relevant and quite frankly necessary for today. Some key ideas I liked:
1. Cultivate the mind, read quality, thought-provoking literature, and form your own opinion. It is ok to disagree with Plato! Just explain why. That exercise is powerful.
2. In our modern way of speaking: Get on people's level. As long as it's not bad or low company, make others enjoy your company and be interested in others. Don't speak about yourself, its tiring.
3. "Suaviter in modo, fortiter in re". Be both gentle in manners, but firm in your actions. There is a gentle balance and both tools are to be used in their appropriate times. One should not have one and not the other.
4. Personal hygiene is paramount. I think this will always survive the centuries!
5. Be polite, gentle, and patient to everyone. Books are fantastic, but eventually you must go out into the world and use what you learned in a living, breathing world. You'll learn more from people and conversations than in years of study in solitude.
All in all, a solid read. I did not intend to be too harsh at the beginning. My advice is if you go into it with firmness and underline the pieces that resonate to the reader, by all means lend Lord Chesterfield your ears (...eyes). Oh and he writes beautifully. That alone was a pleasure.
(200th book read on Goodreads!)
A lot (perhaps the majority) of the letters' lessons are outdated and antiquated. This is of no fault to LC, as one can only write within one's times. But for the 21st century reader: you will eye roll, scoff, and laugh at certain the passages. His extreme, overbearing minutiae is breathtaking. It is ironic that his son, to which all these letters were addressed to, amounted to nothing extraordinary. He met a women and had two children secretly without his father knowing, lived a rather domestic life, and was dead at 36. I felt utter sympathy for the poor boy. He must have felt pinned and crushed underneath his father's impossible expectations. A father who expected nothing short of a perfect specimen of a human being. If his son exhibited anything otherwise, he would alert him voraciously. I wonder if Lord Chesterfield, burying his dead son, regretted at least a bit of his treatment.
HOWEVER, I will say I enjoyed the book, for the reader will be comforted that there are still numerous ideas, suggestions, and discourses that are ultimately relevant and quite frankly necessary for today. Some key ideas I liked:
1. Cultivate the mind, read quality, thought-provoking literature, and form your own opinion. It is ok to disagree with Plato! Just explain why. That exercise is powerful.
2. In our modern way of speaking: Get on people's level. As long as it's not bad or low company, make others enjoy your company and be interested in others. Don't speak about yourself, its tiring.
3. "Suaviter in modo, fortiter in re". Be both gentle in manners, but firm in your actions. There is a gentle balance and both tools are to be used in their appropriate times. One should not have one and not the other.
4. Personal hygiene is paramount. I think this will always survive the centuries!
5. Be polite, gentle, and patient to everyone. Books are fantastic, but eventually you must go out into the world and use what you learned in a living, breathing world. You'll learn more from people and conversations than in years of study in solitude.
All in all, a solid read. I did not intend to be too harsh at the beginning. My advice is if you go into it with firmness and underline the pieces that resonate to the reader, by all means lend Lord Chesterfield your ears (...eyes). Oh and he writes beautifully. That alone was a pleasure.
(200th book read on Goodreads!)
October 19, 2021
They may teach the manners of a dancing-master, but why not?
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews