Lord Chesterfield's Letters (Oxford World's Classics) [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

"All you learn, and all you can read, will be of little use, if you don't think and reason upon it yourself". This is merely one of the advices Lord Chesterfield gave to his natural son, Philip, in the many letters he wrote to him from 1737 onwards, and that this book compiles.

Chesterfield was an important stateman, who wrote these letters only for the eyes of his son, not for the general public, so he did express in stark terms what he truly thought about many controversial themes. It is, in my opinion, very interesting to read what he considered to be general truths, and to get to know his conception of life, society and politics. Whether you agree or not with his opinions, you cannot remain indifferent to this controversial book.

Lord Chesterfield places great value on appearances. He tells Philip that "If your air and address are vulgar, awkward, and gauche, you may be esteemed indeed, if you have great intrinsic merit; but you will never please; and without pleasing you will rise but heavily". The author is, evidently, a cynic who doesn't believe that the world can be improved. He points out that "The world is taken by the outside of things, and we must take the world as it is". Chesterfields profession is fairly evident at all times, for example when he advises his son "...to be upon your own guard, and yet, by a seeming natural openness, to put people off theirs".

"Lord Chesterfield's Letters" has been considered a noteworthy classic by many, but it has also been strongly criticized. For example, Samuel Johnson said that it taught "the morals of a whore and the manners of a dancing-master". I really don't agree with Johnson: I happen to like this book, and a lot. It is not only very easy to read, but also informative. The reader feels as if he were talking with an old but very experienced person, who played an active part in an enormous number of significant events, and who wants to transmit his knowledge not only on diplomatic affairs, but also about life and education. He often displays great insight, for example when he says that "You must look into people, as well as at them. Almost all people are born with all the passions, to a certain degree; but almost every man has a prevailing one, to which the others are subordinate".

All in all, I strongly recommend this book. It includes a high number of subjects, and I think you are highly likely to find it very appealing. If more is needed to convince you, I'll just leave you with one of the phrases written by the author, and I'll let its excellence to speak for itself: "Mind, not only what people say, but how they say it; and, if you have any sagacity, you may discover more truth by your eyes than by your ears. People can say what they will, but they cannot look just as they will; and their looks frequently discover, what their words are calculated to conceal". What else can I say?... Enjoy this book!.

Belen Alcat

While the prose is definitely that of the neoclassic, this text is filled with insight into the nature of society, relationships, business and leadership. I found a dusty old copy of this text in our university library when I was an undergraduate, and it has stayed with me throughout my life. Imagine that these are letters! Each one as carefully crafted as a published essay, and each with a specific point all aimed at the same goal: providing the author's son w/ the tools (weapons in some cases) necessary for success. Here's an example (a paraphrase, as I do not have the text at hand):

Each man is born with all the passions, but in each there is a governing passion which runs stronger and deeper than the rest. Seek out each man's governing passion, and when you have discovered it, remember never to trust him where that passion is concerned. Play upon it to your own advantage if you wish.

The text is full of wisdom such as this. I'm delighted that Amazon can find it for me.

After reading a children's collection of Chesterfield's writings (The Book of Good Manners) I decided to get this Oxford paperback edition of the actual full-length letters themselves. Chesterfield's complete letters fill six volumes, so any one-volume edition is going to be a selection, but it was the subject of manners which made these letters famous, and this subject is mostly written about in his letters to his son and his grandson, and this edition contains 85 such letters. It also has a few letters Chesterfield wrote to various friends and associates and letters having to do with the functions of his various political career. Even if one doesn't much admire Chesterfield's advice to his offspring (for whatever reason) these insights into behaviour and human nature (in the halls of power or not) are not a bad thing to have an understanding of in your overall world-view. Despite the apparently famous and oft-quoted line from Johnson that these letters teach the morals of a dance master or a prostitute (what Johnson was probably saying was these letters describe the 'surface' of society and the insights and advice in that sense tend to come across as shallow, yet I think it's fair to allow Chesterfield to assume the potential character and substance and depth in the human beings who may practice the manners with the artistry that he describes them) some of Chesterfield's insights come out of (without trying to sound dramatic) esoteric teachings and schools, or at least border on the practices taught in higher schools. 'Tact', for instance, is a worldly word for a higher spiritual practice of seeing things from the point-of-view of other people as-well-as being objective enough about yourself that you can know what kind of impression you are making on others. 'Not expressing resentment', as well, is an art of a high order (dealing with emotional energy in general), beyond the obviousness that expressing resentment makes you look like a fool. In fact, Chesterfield paints a cumulative portrait in his letters of a human being who is not just 'going-through-the-correct-motions' but who is actually, potentially, more conscious (and capable of being more conscious) of himself and the world around him than the average human being usually is. Having said that, I'm sure Johnson saw enough trained monkeys (of the human kind) in his day fully capable of practicing these manners that Chesterfield describes, and so it's understandable that he may have cringed a little upon discovering their publication. Yet, hollow men (or mental vacuums) and fools aside these letters are worth the time of anybody interested in increasing their understanding of themselves, human nature in general, and society at any level.