“It is commonly said, and more particularly by Lord Shaftesbury, that ridicule is the best test of truth.”

— Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, Letters to His Son on the Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman (1774), 6 February 1752

About Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield

1694 – 1773

English statesman and man of letters, author of "Letters to His Son".

“Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it.”

“Be wiser than other people if you can; but do not tell them so.”

“Whatever is worth doing at all, is worth doing well.”

“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”

“He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life.”

“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”