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Experience Only Can Teach Men Not To Prefer What Strikes Them For The Present Moment, To What Will Have Much Greater Weight With The Them Hereafter.
-Lord Chesterfield
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Experience Only Can Teach

Lord Chesterfield
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Experience Only Can Teach Men Not To Prefer What Strikes Them For The Present Moment, To What Will Have Much Greater Weight With The Them Hereafter.

Understanding the Quote: "experience only can teach men not to prefer what strikes them for..."

This quote by Lord Chesterfield reflects deeply on the theme of men. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Men, Experience, Weight, the quote offers insight, emotional clarity, and intellectual inspiration to readers worldwide.

Whether you’re a student exploring new ideas, a leader trying to motivate your team, or someone seeking direction in life — this quote provides value. It resonates because it’s more than words — it’s a bridge between experience and wisdom. It shows how Lord Chesterfield interprets life's core challenges and triumphs.

Lessons From the Quote

This quote teaches resilience and focus. It reminds readers that no matter where they stand in life, reflection and self-awareness lead to growth. Each word has meaning, and when studied, it becomes clear how impactful thoughtful language can be.

About Lord Chesterfield

Lord Chesterfield is celebrated for insightful thoughts on men and experience. Their legacy lives on through writings that guide, comfort, and inspire. Discover more on their profile page.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Reflect on how this quote applies to your current life path.
  • Share the message with someone who needs inspiration.
  • Write your thoughts on this quote in a journal or blog post.
  • Use it as a daily affirmation or reminder.

Closing Thoughts

Quotes like this endure because they capture universal truths. They comfort us in solitude and empower us in groups. Carry this quote forward — live by its wisdom, share its message, and keep its essence alive.

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Topic
Men
Experience
Weight
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Lady ---- Is Safely Delivered Of A Son, To The Great Joy Of That Noble Family. The Expression, Of A Woman's Having Brought Her Husband A Son, Seems To Be A Proper And Cautious One; For It Is Never Said, From Whence.
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Not To Perceive The Little Weaknesses And The Idle But Innocent Affectations Of The Company May Be Allowable As A Sort Of Polite Duty. The Company Will Be Pleased With You If You Do, And Most Probably Will Not Be Reformed By You If You Do Not.
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Cardinal Mazarin Was A Great Knave, But No Great Man; Much More Cunning Than Able; Scandalously False And Dirtily Greedy.
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It Is Reported Here That The King Of Prussia Has Gone Mad And Has Been Locked Up. There Would Be Nothing Bad About That: At Leastthat Might Of His Would No Longer Be A Menace, And You Could Breathe Freely For A While. I Much Prefer Madmen Who Are Locked Up To Those Who Are Not.
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Cautiously Avoid Speaking Of The Domestic Affairs Either Of Yourself, Or Of Other People. Yours Are Nothing To Them But Tedious Gossip; And Theirs Are Nothing To You.
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Whatever Is Worth Doing At All Is Worth Doing Well.
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There Never Were, Since The Creation Of The World, Two Cases Exactly Parallel.
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Heart
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Half
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Smoking
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Ego
Veils
Choose The Company Of Your Superiors Whenever You Can Have It.
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Flower
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We Are As Often Duped By Diffidence As By Confidence.
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Take Rather Than Give The Tone To The Company You Are In. If You Have Parts You Will Show Them More Or Less Upon Every Subject; And If You Have Not, You Had Better Talk Sillily Upon A Subject Of Other People's Than Of Your Own Choosing.
Giving
People
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Tolerance
The Great, The Rich, The Powerful, Too Often Bestow Their Favours Upon Their Inferiors In The Manner They Bestow Their Scraps Upontheir Dogs, So As Neither To Oblige Man Nor Dogs. It Is No Wonder If Favours, Benefits, And Even Charities Thus Bestowed Ungraciously, Should Be As Coldly And Faintly Acknowledged.
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Spirit Is Now A Very Fashionable Word: To Act With Spirit, To Speak With Spirit, Means Only To Act Rashly, And To Talk Indiscreetly. An Able Man Shows His Spirit By Gentle Words And Resolute Actions; He Is Neither Hot Nor Timid.
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Men
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Remember That Whatever Knowledge You Do Not Solidly Lay The Foundation Of Before You Are Eighteen, You Will Never Be Master Of While You Breathe.
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Foundation
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Without Some Dissimulation No Business Can Be Carried On At All.
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Sexual Intercourse Is A Grossly Overrated Pastime; The Position Is Undignified, The Pleasure Momentary And The Consequences Damnable.
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Pastime
Physical Ills Are The Taxes Laid Upon This Wretched Life; Some Are Taxed Higher, And Some Lower, But All Pay Something.
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Independence
The Rich Are Always Advising The Poor, But The Poor Seldom Return The Compliment.
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Return
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It Is Hard To Say Which Is The Greatest Fool: He Who Tells The Whole Truth, Or He Who Tells No Truth At All. Character Is As Necessary In Business As In Trade. No Man Can Deceive Often In Either.
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Character
Men
Swift Speedy Time, Feathered With Flying Hours, Dissolves The Beauty Of The Fairest Brow.
Time
Flying
Hours
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Time
Enemy
Resentment
Whenever I Go To An Opera, I Leave My Sense And Reason At The Door With My Half-guinea, And Deliver Myself Up To My Eyes And My Ears.
Eye
Doors
Ears
Ties Of Blood Are Not Always Ties Of Friendship; But Friendship Founded On Merit, On Esteem, And On Mutual Trust, Becomes More Vital And More Tender When Strengthened By The Ties Of Blood.
Friendship
Blood
Ties
Many New Years You May See, But Happy Ones You Cannot See Without Deserving Them. These Virtue, Honor, And Knowledge Alone Can Merit, Alone Can Produce.
New Year
Years
Honor
Should You Be Unfortunate Enough To Have Vices, You May, To A Certain Degree, Even Dignify Them By A Strict Observance Of Decorum;at Least They Will Lose Something Of Their Natural Turpitude.
Vices
Degrees
May
We Are Hardly Ever Grateful For A Fine Clock Or Watch When It Goes Right, And We Pay Attention To It Only When It Falters, For Then We Are Caught By Surprise. It Ought To Be The Other Way About.
Gratitude
Grateful
Watches
You Must Look Into People, As Well As At Them.
Relationship
Men
People
The World Can Doubtless Never Be Well Known By Theory: Practice Is Absolutely Necessary; But Surely It Is Of Great Use To A Young Man, Before He Sets Out For That Country, Full Of Mazes, Windings, And Turnings, To Have At Least A General Map Of It, Made By Some Experienced Traveler.
Country
Men
Practice
A Man Must Have A Good Share Of Wit Himself To Endure A Great Share In Another.
Men
Share
Endure
The Heart Never Grows Better By Age; I Fear Rather Worse, Always Harder. A Young Liar Will Be An Old One, And A Young Knave Will Only Be A Greater Knave As He Grows Older.
Birthday
Time
Liars
People Will No More Advance Their Civility To A Bear, Than Their Money To A Bankrupt.
People
Bears
Civility
Knowledge May Give Weight, But Accomplishments Give Luster, And Many More People See Than Weigh.
Inspirational
Knowledge
People
Custom Has Made Dancing Sometimes Necessary For A Young Man; Therefore Mind It While You Learn It, That You May Learn To Do It Well, And Not Be Ridiculous, Though In A Ridiculous Act.
Men
Dancing
Ballet
Manners Must Adorn Knowledge And Smooth Its Way Through The World.
Jewels
World
Way
Great Merit, Or Great Failings, Will Make You Respected Or Despised; But Trifles, Little Attentions, Mere Nothings, Either Done Or Neglected, Will Make You Either Liked Or Disliked In The General Run Of The World.
Running
Attention
Done
Firmness Of Purpose Is One Of The Best Instruments Of Success.
Success
Mazes
Purpose
Know The True Value Of Time; Snatch, Seize, And Enjoy Every Moment Of It. No Idleness, No Laziness, No Procrastination: Never Put Off Till Tomorrow What You Can Do Today.
Life
Motivational
Positive
For My Own Part, I Would Rather Be In Company With A Dead Man Than With An Absent One; For If The Dead Man Gives Me No Pleasure, At Least He Shows Me No Contempt; Whereas The Absent One, Silently Indeed, But Very Plainly, Tells Me That He Does Not Think Me Worth His Attention.
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Men
Thinking
Distrust Those Who Love You Extremely Upon A Slight Acquaintance, And Without Any Visible Reason.
Friendship
Trust
Love You
Little Vicious Minds Abound With Anger And Revenge And Are Incapable Of Feeling Te Pleasure Of Forgiving Their Enemies.
Forgiveness
Revenge
Feelings
A Proper Secrecy Is The Only Mystery Of Able Men; Mystery Is The Only Secrecy Of Weak And Cunning Ones.
Men
Able
Mystery
Many People Come Into Company Full Of What They Intend To Say In It Themselves, Without The Least Regard To Others; And Thus Charged Up To The Muzzle Are Resolved To Let It Off At Any Rate.
People
Muzzle
Egotism
Of Those Who Really Love Their Sons, Few Know How To Do It. Some Spoil Them When They Are Young, And Then Quarrel With Them When They Are Grown Up, For Having Been Spoiled; Some Love Them Like Mothers, And Attend Only To The Bodily Health And Strength Of The Hopes Of Their Family, Solemnize His Birthday, And Rejoice, Like The Subjects Of The Great Mogul, At The Increase Of His Bulk: While Others, Minding, As They Think, Only Essentials, Take Pains And Pleasure To See In Their Heir, All Their Favourite Weaknesses And Imperfections.
Love
Family
Mother
Remember, That When I Speak Of Pleasures I Always Mean The Elegant Pleasures Of A Rational Being, And Not The Brutal Ones Of A Swine. I Mean La Bonne Chère, Short Of Gluttony; Wine, Infinitely Short Of Drunkenness; Play, Without The Least Gaming; And Gallantry, Without Debauchery.
Wine
Mean
Play
Men Are Much More Unwilling To Have Their Weaknesses And Their Imperfections Known Than Their Crimes.
Men
Imperfection
Weakness
There Is Nothing That People Bear More Impatiently, Or Forgive Less, Than Contempt: And An Injury Is Much Sooner Forgotten Than An Insult.
Insult To Injury
People
Forgiving
Manners Must Adorn Knowledge And Smooth Its Way In The World, Without Them It Is Like A Great Rough Diamond, Very Well In A Closet By Way Of Curiosity, And Also For Its Intrinsic Value; But Most Prized When Polished.
Knowledge
Jewels
Curiosity
The Company Of Women Of Fashion Will Improve Your Manners, Though Not Your Understanding; And That Complaisance And Politeness, Which Are So Useful In Men's Company, Can Only Be Acquired In Women's.
Fashion
Men
Understanding
Whoever Is In A Hurry Shows That The Thing He Is About Is Too Big For Him.
Powerful
Work
Haste
An Injury Is Much Sooner Forgotten Than An Insult.
Trust
Insult To Injury
Domestic Violence
Human Nature Is The Same Everywhere; The Modes Only Are Different.
Different
Human Nature
Humans
Firmness Of Purpose Is One Of The Most Necessary Sinews Of Character, And One Of The Best Instruments Of Success. Without It, Genius Wastes Its Efforts In A Maze Of Inconsistencies.
Success
Character
Effort
The Only Solid And Lasting Peace Between A Man And His Wife Is, Doubtless, A Separation.
Funny
Marriage
Drinking
Mankind Is Made Up Of Inconsistencies, And No Man Acts Invariably Up To His Predominant Character. The Wisest Man Sometimes Acts Weakly, And The Weakest Sometimes Wisely.
Character
Men
Wisest Man
Nothing Convinces Persons Of A Weak Understanding So Effectually, As What They Do Not Comprehend.
Ignorance
Understanding
Weak
I Would Rather Have A Young Fellow Too Much Than Too Little Dressed; The Excess On That Side Will Wear Off, With A Little Age And Reflection; But If He Is Negligent At Twenty, He Will Be A Sloven At Forty, And Stink At Fifty Years Old. Dress Yourself Fine Where Others Are Fine, And Plain Where Others Are Plain; But Take Care Always That Your Clothes Are Well Made And Fit You, For Otherwise They Will Give You A Very Awkward Air.
Reflection
Years
Clothes
Know The True Value Of Time; Snatch, Seize, And Enjoy Every Moment Of It.
Inspirational
Positive
Time
Dancing Is, In Itself, A Very Trifling And Silly Thing: But It Is One Of Those Established Follies To Which People Of Sense Are Sometimes Obliged To Conform; And Then They Should Be Able To Do It Well. And Though I Would Not Have You A Dancer, Yet, When You Do Dance, I Would Have You Dance Well, As I Would Have You Do Everything You Do Well.
Dance
Silly
People
The Mere Brute Pleasure Of Reading - The Sort Of Pleasure A Cow Must Have In Grazing.
Reading
Cows
Pleasure
History Is But A Confused Heap Of Facts.
Confused
History
Facts
As Fathers Commonly Go, It Is Seldom A Misfortune To Be Fatherless; And Considering The General Run Of Sons, As Seldom A Misfortune To Be Childless.
Inspirational
Funny
Fathers Day
Sincerity Is The Most Compendious Wisdom.
Sincerity
If We Do Not Plant Knowledge When Young, It Will Give Us No Shade When We Are Old.
Inspirational
Teacher
Teaching
Young Men Are Apt To Think Themselves Wise Enough, As Drunken Men Are Apt To Think Themselves Sober Enough.
Wise
Time
Ignorance
I Have, By Long Experience, Found Women To Be Like Telephus's Spear: If One End Kills, The Other Cures.
Women
Long
Ends
An Honest Man May Really Love A Pretty Girl, But Only An Idiot Marries Her Merely Because She Is Pretty.
Love
Marriage
Girl
I Look Upon Indolence As A Sort Of Suicide; For The Man Is Effectually Destroyed, Though The Appetites Of The Brute May Survive.
Suicide
Men
Looks
Cultivate The Habit Of Thinking Ahead, And Of Anticipating The Necessary And Immediate Consequences Of All Your Actions.... Likewise In Your Pleasures, Ask Yourself What Such And Such An Amusement Leads To, As It Is Essential To Have An Objective In Everything You Do. Any Pastime That Contributes Nothing To Bodily Strength Or To Mental Alertness Is A Totally Ridiculous, Not To Say, Idiotic, Pleasure.
Motivation
Thinking
Alertness Is
In The Ordinary Course Of Things, How Many Succeed In Society Merely By Virtue Of Their Manners, While Others, However Meritorious, Fail Through Lack Of Them? After All, It's Only Barbarians Who Wear Uncut Precious Stones.
Success
Failure
Precious Stones
Ceremonies Are The Outworks Of Manners.
Manners
Ceremony
Hear One Side And You Will Be In The Dark. Hear Both And All Will Be Clear.
Dark
Sides
Argument
In My Mind, There Is Nothing So Illiberal, And So Ill-bred, As Audible Laughter.
Funny
Laughter
Humorous
Awkwardness Is A More Real Disadvantage Than It Is Generally Thought To Be; It Often Occasions Ridicule, It Always Lessens Dignity.
Real
Dignity
Disadvantages
The Greatest Powers Cannot Injure A Man's Character Whose Reputation Is Unblemished Among His Party.
Party
Character
Men
A Man Who Tells Nothing, Or Who Tells All, Will Equally Have Nothing Told Him.
Equality
Men
We Are In Truth, More Than Half What We Are By Imitation. The Great Point Is To Choose Good Models And To Study Them With Care.
Example
Half
Care
I Could Wish There Were A Treaty Made Between The French And The English Theatres, In Which Both Parties Should Make Considerableconcessions. The English Ought To Give Up Their Notorious Violations Of The Unities, And All Their Massacres, Racks, Dead Bodies, And Mangled Carcasses, Which They So Frequently Exhibit Upon Their Stage. The French Should Engage To Have More Action, And Less Declamation, And Not To Cram And To Crowd Things Together To Almost A Degree Of Impossibility From A Too Scrupulous Adherence To The Unities.
Giving Up
Party
Unity
One Should Always Think Of What One Is About; When One Is Learning, One Should Not Think Of Play; And When One Is At Play, One Should Not Think Of Learning.
Education
Teaching
Thinking
I Am Grown Old, And Have Possibly Lost A Great Deal Of That Fire, Which Formerly Made Me Love Fire In Others At Any Rate, And However Attended With Smoke: But Now I Must Have All Sense, And Cannot, For The Sake Of Five Righteous Lines, Forgive A Thousand Absurd Ones.
Fire
Poetry
Forgiving
Business By No Means Forbids Pleasures; On The Contrary, They Reciprocally Season Each Other; And I Will Venture To Affirm, That No Man Enjoys Either In Perfection That Does Not Join Both.
Mean
Perfection
Doe
Judgment Is Not Upon All Occasions Required, But Discretion Always Is.
Justice
Judgment
All Occasions
Women Who Are Either Indisputably Beautiful, Or Indisputably Ugly, Are Best Flattered Upon The Score Of Their Understandings.
Beautiful
Women
Understanding
The Possibility Of Remedying Imprudent Actions Is Commonly An Inducement To Commit Them.
Motivation
Temptation
Action
The Scholar Without Good Breeding Is A Pedant; The Philosopher, A Cynic.
Philosophy
Pedants
Philosopher
Young Men Are As Apt To Think Themselves Wise Enough, As Drunken Men Are To Think Themselves Sober Enough. They Look Upon Spirit To Be A Much Better Thing Than Experience; Which They Call Coldness. They Are But Half Mistaken; For Though Spirit Without Experience Is Dangerous, Experience Without Spirit Is Languid And Ineffective.
Wise
Men
Thinking
If A Marriage Is Going To Work Well, It Must Be On A Solid Footing, Namely Money, And Of That Commodity It Is The Girl With The Smallest Dowry Who, To My Knowledge, Consumes The Most, To Infuriate Her Husband. All The Same, It Is Only Fair That The Marriage Should Pay For Past Pleasures, Since It Will Scarcely Procure Any In The Future.
Marriage
Girl
Money
Idleness Is Only The Refuge Of Weak Minds.
Mind
Glitter
Laziness
The Less One Has To Do, The Less Time One Finds To Do It In.
Inspirational
Funny
Life
Most Arts Require Long Study And Application, But The Most Useful Art Of All, That Of Pleasing, Requires Only The Desire.
Art
Long
Desire
I Wish... That You Had As Much Pleasure In Following My Advice, As I Have In Giving It.
Giving
Advice
Wish
Pleasure Is A Necessary Reciprocal. No One Feels, Who Does Not At The Same Time Give It. To Be Pleased, One Must Please. What Pleases You In Others, Will In General Please Them In You.
Giving
Doe
Pleasure
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. A Man Of Parts And Fashion Is Therefore Often Seen To Smile, But Never Heard To Laugh.
Fashion
Laughter
Silly
I Recommend To You To Take Care Of The Minutes; For Hours Will Take Care Of Themselves. I Am Very Sure, That Many People Lose Two Or Three Hours Every Day, By Not Taking Care Of The Minutes.
Two
People
Three
Character Must Be Kept Bright As Well As Clean.
Character
Cleanliness
Clean
Good Humor Is The Health Of The Soul, Sadness Is Its Poison.
Sad
Depressing
Inspiration
Knowledge Of The World In Only To Be Acquired In The World, And Not In A Closet.
Education
Knowledge
World
Experience Only Can Teach Men Not To Prefer What Strikes Them For The Present Moment, To What Will Have Much Greater Weight With The Them Hereafter.
Men
Experience
Weight
Instead Of Giving In To The Greatest Misfortune That Can Happen At My Age, Deafness, I Busy Myself In Searching Out All Possible Compensations, And I Apply Myself Much More To All The Amusements That Are Here Within My Grasp.
Giving
Age
Amusement
There Is Hardly Anybody Good For Everything, And There Is Scarcely Anybody Who Is Absolutely Good For Nothing.
I Look Upon Indolence As A Sort Of Suicide.
Suicide
Looks
Look Up
I Have Been Too Long Acquainted With Human Nature To Have Great Regard For Human Testimony; And A Very Great Degree Of Probability, Supported By Various Concurrent Circumstances, Conspiring In One Point, Will Have Much Greater Weight With Me, Than Human Testimony Upon Oath, Or Even Upon Honour; Both Of Which I Have Frequently Seen Considerably Warped By Private Views.
Truth
Views
Long
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