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Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield on Smile

1694–1773 England

← All quotes by Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield

4 quotes

In my mind, there is nothing so illiberal and so ill-bred, as audible laughter.

Letters to His Son on the Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman (1774)

The vulgar only laugh, but never smile; whereas well-bred people often smile, but seldom laugh.

A gentleman is often seen, but very seldom heard to laugh.

Loud laughter is the mirth of the mob, who are only pleased with silly things; for true wit or good sense never excited a laugh since the creation of the world.

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.