LORD CHESTERFIELD'S LETTERS

198

for you was not a weak, womanish one; and, far from blinding
me, it makes me but more quick-fighted, as to your faults: thofe
it is not only my right, but my duty, to tell you of; and it
is your duty and your interest to correct them. In the strict feru-
tiny which I have made into you, I have (thank God) hitherto not
discovered any vice of the heart, or any peculiar weakneſs of the
head: but I have discovered lazineſs, inattention, and indiffer-
ence; faults which are only pardonable in old men, who, in the
decline of life, when health and spirits fail, have a kind of claim to
that fort of tranquillity. But a young man should be ambitious to
fhine, and excel; alert, active, and indefatigable in the means of
doing it; and, like Cefar, *Nil aſtum reputans, fi quid ſupereſſot
agendum.* You seem to want that *vivida vis animi*, which furps
and excites moſt young men to pleafe, to ſhine, to excel. With-
out the defire and the pains neceſſary to be confiderable, depend
upon it, you never can be ſo; as, without the defire and attention
neceſſary to pleafe, you never can pleafe. *Nullum numen abest, fi
ſit prudentia*, is unqueſtionably true, with regard to every thing ex-
cept poetry; and I am very ſure that any man of common under-
ſtanding may, by proper culture, care, attention, and labour, make
himſelf whatever he pleafes, except a good poet. Your deftina-
tion is the great and busy world; your immediate object is the
affairs, the intereſts, and the hiftory, the conſtitutions, the cuſ-
toms, and the manners of the ſeveral parts of Europe. In this,
any man of common ſenſe may, by common application, be
ſure to excel. Ancient and Modern Hiftory are, by attention,
eaſily attainable. Geography and Chronology the fame; none
of them requiring any uncommon ſhare of genius or invention.
Speaking and writing, clearly, correctly, and with eafe and grace,
are certainly to be acquired, by reading the beſt authors with
care, and by attention to the beſt living models. These are the

qualifications

TO HIS SON.

199

qualifications more particularly neceſſary for you, in your de-
partment, which you may be poffeſed of, if you pleafe; and
which, I tell you fairly, I ſhall be very angry at you, if you
are not; becauſe, as you have the means in your hands, it will
be your own fault only.

If care and application are neceſſary to the acquiring of thofe
qualifications, without which you can never be confiderable, nor
make a figure in the world; they are not leſs neceſſary with
regard to the leſser accomplishments, which are requisite to make
you agreeable and pleafing in ſociety. In truth, whatever is
worth doing at all, is worth doing well; and nothing can be done
well without attention: I therefore carry the neceſſity of attention
down to the loweſt things, even to dancing and drefs. Custom
has made dancing ſometimes neceſſary for a young man; there-
fore mind it while you learn it, that you may learn to do it well,
and not be ridiculous, though in a ridiculous act. Drefs is of the
fame nature; you muſt drefs: therefore attend to it; not in order
to rival or to excel a fop in it, but in order to avoid ſingularity,
and conſequently ridicule. Take great care always to be drefſed
like the reasonable people of your own age, in the place where
you are; whose drefs is never ſpoken of one way or another, as
either too negligent or too much ſtudied.

What is commonly called an absent man, is commonly either
a very weak, or a very affected man; but be he which he will, he
is, I am ſure, a very disagreeable man in company. He fails in
all the common offices of civility; he ſeems not to know thofe
people to-day, whom yefterday he appeared to live in intimacy
with. He takes no part in the general conversation; but, on the
contrary, breaks into it from time to time, with ſome start of his
own, as if he waked from a dream. This (as I ſaid before) is a
ſure indication, either of a mind ſo weak that it is not able to

bear

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LORD CHESTERFIELD'S LETTERS

200

bear above one object at a time; or so affected, that it would be
fuppofed to be wholly engroffed by, and directed to, some very
great and important objects. Sir Isaac Newton, Mr. Locke, and
(it may be) five or fix more, fince the creation of the world, may
have had a right to abfence, from that intenſe thought which
the things they were inveſtigating required. But if a young man,
and a man of the world, who has no fuch avocations to plead,
will claim and exercife that right of abfence in company, his pre-
tended right ſhould, in my mind, be turned into an involuntary
abſence, by his perpetual exſclusion out of company. However
frivolous a company may be, ſill, while you are among them, do
not ſhow them, by your inattention, that you think them ſo; but
rather take their tone, and conform in ſome degree to their weak-
neſs, inſtead of manifeſting your contempt for them. There is
nothing that people bear more impatiently, or forgive leſs, than
contempt; and an injury is much ſooner forgotten than an infult.
If therefore you would rather pleafe than offend, rather be well
than ill ſpoken of, rather be loved than hated; remember to have
that conſtant attention about you, which flatters every man's little
vanity; and the want of which, by mortifying his pride, never fails
to excite his ſentment, or at least his ill-will. For inſtance; moſt
people (I might ſay all people) have their weakneſſes; they have
their averſions and their likings, to ſuch or ſuch things; ſo that, if
you were to laugh at a man for his averſion to a cat, or cheſſe,
(which are common antipathies) or, by inattention and negligence,
to let them come in his way, where you could prevent it, he
would, in the firſt cafe, think himſelf infuſted, and, in the
ſecond, ſlighted; and would remember both. Whereas your
care to procure for him what he likes, and to remove from him
what he hates, ſhows him, that he is at least an object of your
attention; flatters his vanity, and makes him poſſibly more your
friend,

3

TO HIS SON.

201

friend, than a more important ſervice would have done. With
regard to women, attentions ſtill below theſe are neceſſary, and,
by the cuſtom of the world, in ſome meaſure due, according to
the laws of good-breeding.

My long and frequent letters, which I ſend you, in great doubt
of their ſucces, put me in mind of certain papers, which you
have, very lately, and I formerly, ſent up to kites, along the
ſtring, which we called meſſengers; ſome of them the wind uſed
to blow away, others were torn by the ſtring, and but few of them
got up and ſtuck to the kite. But I will content myſelf now, as
as I did then, if ſome of my preſent meſſengers do but ſtick to
you. Adieu.

LETTER LXXXII.

DEAR BOY,

YOU are by this time (I fuppofe) quite fettled and at home
at Laufanne; therefore pray let me know how you paſ
your time there, and what your ſtudies, your amuſements, and
your acquaintances are. I take it for granted, that you inform
yourſelf daily of the nature of the government and conſtitution of
the Thirteen Cantons; and, as I am ignorant of them myſelf, I
muſt apply to you for information. I know the names, but I do
not know the nature of ſome of the moſt confiderable offices there;
ſuch as the *Avoyers*, the *Seizeñoirs*, the *Banderets*, and the
*Gros Sautier*. I defire, therefore, that you will let me know
what is the particular buſineſs, department, or province of theſe
feveral Magiftrates. But, as I imagine that there may be ſome,
though, I believe, no eſſential difference, in the governments of
VOL. I.

D d

the

These questions were
to make his ton inform
himself.

202 LORD CHESTERFIELD'S LETTERS

the several Cantons, I would not give you the trouble of inform-
ing yourself of each of them; but confine my inquiries, as you
may your informations, to the Canton you refide in; that of
Berne, which I take to be the principal one. I am not fure whe-
ther the Pais de Vaud, where you are, being a conquered coun-
try, and taken from the Dukes of Savoy, in the year 1536, has
the fame flare in the government of the Canton, as the German
part of it has. Pray inform yourfelf and me about it.

I have, this moment, received yours from Berne, of the 2d
October, N. S. and also one from Mr. Harte, of the fame date,
under Mr. Burnaby's cover. I find by the latter, and indeed I
thought so before, that fome of your letters, and fome of Mr.
Harte's, have not reached me. Wherefore, for the future, I
defire, that both he and you will direct your letters for me, to be
left chez Monsieur Wolters, Agent de S. M. Britannique, à Rot-
terdam, who will take care to fend them to me fafe. The rea-
fon why you have not received letters, either from me or from
Grevenkop, was, that we directed them to Laufanne, where we
thought you long ago: and we thought it to no purpofe to
direct to you upon your route, where it was little likely that our
letters would meet with you. But you have, since your arrival at
Laufanne, I believe, found letters enough from me; and it may
be more than you have read, at leaft with attention.

I am glad that you like Switzerland so well; and impat-
tient to hear how other matters go, after your settlement at Lau-
fanne. God blefs you !

LETTER

TO HIS SON.

203

LETTER LXXXIII.

London, December the 2d, O.S. 1746.

DEAR BOY,

I Have not, in my prefent fituation *, time to write to you,
either so much or so often as I ufed, while I was in a
place of much more leifure and profit : but my affection for you
muft not be judged of by the number of my letters; and, though
the one leffens, the other, I affure you, does not.

I have juft now received your letter of the 25th paft, N. S. and,
by the former poft, one from Mr. Harte; both which I am very
well pleafed with: with Mr. Harte's, for the good account which
he gives me of you; with yours, for the good account you give
me of what I defired to be informed of. Pray continue to give
me further information of the form of government of the country
you are now in; which, I hope, you will know moft minutely
before you leave it. The inequality of the town of Laufanne,
feems to be very convenient in this cold weather; becaufe going
up hill and down will keep you warm.—You fay there is a good
deal of good company; pray, are you got into it? Have you
made acquaintances, and with whom? Let me know fome of
their names. Do you learn German yet, to read, write, and
ſpeak it?

Yesterday, I faw a letter from Monsieur Bochat, to a friend of
mine; which gave me the greateſt pleafure that I have felt this
great while; becaufe it gives ſo very good an account of you.

* His Lordship was, in the year 1746, appointed one of his Majesty's Secretaries of State.

Dd 2

Among

204 LORD CHESTERFIELD'S LETTERS

Among other things, which Monfieur Bochat fays to your advan-
tage, he mentions the tender uneafineſs and concern that you
flowed during my illneſs; for which (though I will ſay that you
owe it me) I am obliged to you: ſentiments of gratitude not
being univerſal, nor even common. As your affection for me
can only proceed from your experience and conviction of my fond-
neſs for you; (for to talk of natural affection is talking nonſenſe)
the only return I defire is, what it is chiefly your intereſt to make
me; I mean, your invariable practice of Virtue, and your in-
defatigable purſuit of Knowledge. Adieu! and be ſeuſuaded that
I ſhall love you extremely, while you deferve it; but not one mo-
ment longer.

LETTER LXXXIV.

DEAR BOY,

London, December the 9th, O. S. 1746.

T
HOUGH I have very little time, and though I write by
this poſt to Mr. Harte, yet I cannot ſend a packet to
Laufanne without a word or two to yourſelf. I thank you for
your letter of congratulation which you wrote me, notwithſtanding
the pain it gave you. The accident that cauſed the pain, was, I
prefume, owing to that degree of giddineſs which I have ſome-
times taken the liberty to ſpeak to you of. The poſt I am
now in, though the object of moſt people's views and deſires, was
in ſome degree infliſted upon me; and a certain concurrence of
circumſtances obliged me to engage in it. But I feel that it re-
quires more ſtrength of body and mind than I have, to go through
with it: were you three or four years older, you ſhould ſhare in
my

TO HIS SON.

205

my trouble, and I would have taken you into my office; but I
hope you will employ thate three or four years ſo well, as to
make yourſelf capable of being of uſe to me, if I ſhould continue
in it ſo long. The reading, writing, and ſpeaking, the modern
languages correctly; the knowledge of the laws of nations, and the
particular conſtitution of the Empire, of Hiftory, Geography, and
Chronology; are absolutely neceſſary to this buſineſs, for which I
have always intended you. With theſe qualifications, you may
very poſſibly be my ſucceſſor, though not my immediate one.

I hope you employ your whole time, which ſew people do; and
that you put every moment to profit of ſome kind or other. I
call company, walking, riding, &c. employing one's time, and,
upon proper occafions, very uſefully; but what I cannot forgive,
in any body, is ſauntering, and doing nothing at all, with a thing
ſo precious as time, and ſo irrecoverable when loſt.

Are you acquainted with any Ladies at Laufanne; and do you
behave yourſelf with politeneſs enough to make them deſire your
company ?

I muſt finiſh : God bleſs you !

LETTER LXXXV.

A Londres, ce 24 Fcv. N. S. 1747r.

MONSIEUR,

POUR entretenir réciproquement notre frangais, que nous
courons rifque d'oublier tous deux faute d'habitude, vous per-
mettrez, bien, que j'aie l'honneur de vous aſſurer de mes reſpectz,
dans cette langue, et vous aurez auffi la bonté de me répondre dans
la même. Ce n'eſt pas que je craigne que vous oubliez de parler
français.

206

LORD CHESTERFIELD'S LETTERS

françois, puifque apparemme nt lesdeux tiers de vôtre caquet quotidien font dans cette langue ; mais c'eft que fi vous vous défaccoutumiez d'écrire en francois, vous pourriez, un jour, manquer à cette pureté grammaticale et à cette orthographe exaète, par où vous brillez tant, dans les autres langues : et au bout du compte, il vaut mieux écrire bien que mal, même en francois. Au refte, comme c'eft une langue faite pour l'enjouement et le badinage ; je m'y conformerai et je réferverai mon ferieux pour l'anglois. Je ne vous parlerai donc pas à préfent, de vôtre Grec, vôtre Latin, vôtre Droit, soit de la Nature, ou des Gens, soit public, ou particulier ; mais parlons plutôt de vos amufemens et de vos plaifirs : puis qu'auſſi bien il en faut avoir. Oſerois-je vous demander quels font les vôtres ? Eſt ce un petit jeu de sociétè, en bonne compagnie ? Eſt-il queſtion de petits soupers agréables, ou la gaieté et la bienfance ſe trouvent réunies ? Ou, en contez vous à quelque Belle, vos attentions, pour laquelle, contribueroient à vous décrotter ? Faites moi votre confident, ſur cette matière, vous ne me trouverez pas un cenfeur ſevere ; au contraire, je sollicite l'emploi de miniftre de vos plaifirs : Je vous en indiquerai, et même j'y contribuerai.

Nombre de jeunes gens ſe livrent à des plaifirs qu'ils ne gouttent point, parceque, par abus, ils ont le nom de plaifirs. Ils s'y trompent même, fouvent, au point de prendre la débauche pour le plaifir. Avoiez que l'ivrognerie, qui ruine également la fanté et l'esprit, eſt un beau plaifir. Le gros jeu, qui vous caufé mille mauvaïſes affaires, qui *ne vous laiffe pas le ſol et qui vous donne tout l'air et les manières d'un poſſé, eſt un plaifir bien exquis : n'eſt ce pas ?* La débauche des femmes, à la verité, n'a guères d'autre ſuite, que de faire tomber le nez, ruiner la fanté et vous attirer, de tems en tems, quelques coups d'épée. Bagatelles que cela ! Voilà, cependant, le catalogue des plaifirs de la plus part

7

TO HIS SON.

207

part des jeunes gens, qui ne raifonnent pas, par eux mêmes, et qui adoptent, fans diſcernement, ce qu'il plaift aux autres d'appeller du beau nom de Plaifir. Je fuis très perſuadé que vous ne tomberez pas dans ces égaremens et que, dans le choix de vos plaifirs, vous confulterez votre raifon et votre goût.

La societé des honnêtes gens, la table dans les bornes requifes, un petit jeu qui amufe fans intérêt, et la converſation enjouée et galante des femmes de condition et d'esprit, font les vêritables plaifirs d'un honnête homme ; qui ne caufent ni maladie ni honte, ni repentir. Au lieu que tout ce qui va au delà, devient crapule, débauche, fureur, qui loin de donner du relief décrédite, et défhonore. Adieu.

TRANSLATION.

London, February the 24th, O.S. 1747-

SIR,

IN order that we may, reciprocally, keep up our French, which, for want of practice, we might forget, you will permit me to have the honour of affuring you of my reſpects, in that language; and be ſo good to anſwer me in the fame. Not that I am apprehenſive of your forgetting to ſpeak French; ſince it is probable, that two-thirds of your daily prattle is in that language; but becaufe, if you leave-off writing French, you may, perhaps, negleſt that grammatical purity, and accurate orthography, which, in other languages, you excel in; and really, even in French, it is better to write well than ill. However, as this is a language very proper for ſprightly, gay ſubjeets, I ſhall conform to that, and reſerve thofe which are ſerious for English. I ſhall not, therefore, mention to you, at preſent, your Greek or Latin, your ſtudy of the Law of Nature, or the Law of Nations, the Rights