Letters of Philip Dormer, Fourth Earl of Chesterfield, to His Godson and Successor

An English statesman and celebrated wit and conversationalist, Lord Chesterfield achieved lasting fame through his letters to his natural son and to his adopted godson. The brilliant Letters to His Son, first published by his widow in 1774, was written to acquaint the boy with and encourage him to acquire the manners and standards of a man of the world. The letters are considered shrewd, witty, and elegant. Letters to His Godson, of which 236 are extant, was not published until 1890. Chesterfield was a friend of Pope and Swift and corresponded with Voltaire. As the patron of Samuel Johnson, Chesterfield provoked Johnson's famous February 1755 letter of rebuke after Lord Chesterfield's belated praise of Johnson's Dictionary, which he had ignored in prospectus since 1747. In the letter, Johnson wrote that "the notice which you have been pleased to take of my labors, 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."

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