Never heard of him.
Another Brit checking in. Grammar school education, never heard of the geezer.
Cal, is this the Latin quote?
No. I don’t have the book here with me – I’ll post it later. It’s certainly not a latin quote I’d ever encountered before (And I studied latin on my own and in high school), and I wouldn’t call it “famous”. The writer I was critiquing said that he called it “famous” because it was well-known from Chesterfield’s writing. But, as this thread seems to confirm, Chesterfield’s writing doesn’t seem to be famous even among this Board’s bunch of know-it-alls.
Sorry, never heard of him.
In my opinion your criticism stands. I think it would be fair to say that I know a lot of obscure stuff. Lord Chesterfield as a name might have crossed through my consciousness at some point, but I have no specific knowledge of him as quoted or quotable.
I’m certain that I learned about him in one of my English history classes but that was over 25 years ago. I couldn’t tell you a thing about him now.
A further thought occurs to me. Although this author bashes both the politically Right and the Left about equally (an admirable method, in my mind), his political sympathies were nevertheless clear to me – whenever he wanted to give an example of praiseworthy standards or actions he chose someone from the Right side of the aisle, and whenever he wanted an example of incorrect standards or actions it came from the Left. He seemed surprised when I pointed this out, perhaps because he had been at pains to keep his work apolitical, and the bias of his choices wasn’t apparent to himself. (I suspect I’d be similarly tilted, only the other way).
The thing is, our own Bricker leans the same way, and he’s one of the few who knew anything of Chesterfield in this thread. I know that when I look through magazines like National Review I see plenty of ads for the works of political and ethical writers I see quite a few of this sort and from this era. I get them in mailings from book publishers and self-taught courses as well from the other side of the political aisle. I never see these sorts of things in Left-leaning publications. Is it possible that knowledge of Chesterfield is greater among the conservative establishment? Bricker, are your friends and associates more likely to know of him? Could this be another example of the author’s background affecting his attitudes and knowledge in ways he would not immediately be aware of ?
I have heard of him because in any bookstore, library, or alphabetical list of great British authors, he shows up right next to my favorite author, G. K. Chesterton. But I haven’t the slightest clue what he wrote or why he’s famous.
Never heard of him, and none of those quotes are even more than vaguely familiar.
(American woman, 35, public schooled with a college degree)
I’ve heard of him, and knew he was famous for coming up with pithy maxims, though I couldn’t have quoted one. I wouldn’t assume audience familiarity with him.
I’ve written three books about him and his place in Western Civilization, and I’m appalled that his name is not remembered along with Chamberlain and Churchill.
No. I, too, only know him in the “cultural literacy” sense mentioned above.
Never heard of him. The last quote is vaguely familiar in a Franklin-Coveyish kind of way.
You mean the quotes in the OP, right?
“Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today” is so well-worn that it’s essentially cliche.
Indeed. It makes me ask if
a.) He really did say/write it? (I’ve recently come across other quotes on the internet that turn out to be misattributed)
b.) If so, did he originate it?
c.) If he didn’t originate it, did he essentially popularize it?
The reason that I wonder is because many of his quotes aren’t at all familiar, while others are so familiar they’re virtually cliches. There seems no middle ground, and it seems odd that so several very familiar quotes are attributed to this person that a lot of us have never heard of. if true, he definitely deserves tobe better known.
None of the quotes I read in that book, by the way, were of the “cliche familiar” variety. They were all new to me.
You may find this page interesting, assuming the accuracy of the quotes therein.
EDIT: Googling also reveals that this proverb is quite often attributed to Thomas Jefferson.
.
Yep. I have seen the second quote before somewhere, but in no way was it linked in my mind with a particular individual.
I have a bachelor’s in English literature and political science and I couldn’t have told you who he was. I may have known in college, but God that was 25 years ago. 
So for a general, reasonably educated reader, no.
Thank you. One day you must tell me which page it is.
An omission I have, in the past, made myself, I must admit.
Yes, I know who Lord Chesterfield is, mainly in connection with his “letters to his son,” which I read when I was in my early twenties, but also for his connection to Samuel Johnson, whom I was also “into” and read a lot of at about that time.
[QUOTE=Wikipedia]
In preparation for the work, Johnson wrote a Plan for the Dictionary. This Plan was patronised by Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, to Johnson’s displeasure. Seven years after first meeting Johnson to go over the work, Chesterfield wrote two anonymous essays in The World recommending the Dictionary. He complained that the English language lacked structure and argued in support of the dictionary. Johnson did not like the tone of the essay, and he felt that Chesterfield had not fulfilled his obligations as the work’s patron. Johnson wrote a letter expressing this view and harshly criticising Chesterfield, saying “Is not a patron, my lord, one who looks with unconcern on a man struggling for life in the water, and when he has reached ground, encumbers him with help? The notice which you have been pleased to take of my labours, had it been early, had been kind: but it has been delayed till I am indifferent and cannot enjoy it; till I am solitary and cannot impart it; till I am known and do not want it.” Chesterfield, impressed by the language, kept the letter displayed on a table for anyone to read.
[/QUOTE]
I think I first ran across both Chesterfield’s letters to his son and Johnson’s letter that is quoted above in some anthology of literature. Anyone who’s studied the English Lit of Johnson’s era is going to know about Chesterfield, but alas, I think that era is somewhat out of fashion nowadays.