Getting What You Want from Others

From their first publication, Chesterfield's letters were considered scandalous. Samuel Johnson said they taught the "morals of a whore, and the manners of a dancing-master." In reality, Chesterfield advocated a strict morality that condemned lying, rudeness, cheating, corruption, vanity, idleness, ridiculing others, and vulgarity. In their place, he recommended good manners, respect for the beliefs and opinions of others, propriety, generosity, charity, eloquence, grace, amiability, good humor, self-control, common sense, and the Golden Rule to woo others, win their hearts, and advance one's own agenda. The purpose of this book is to encapsulate Chesterfield's teachings in presentations accessible and easily understood by today's readers. Advice on similar topics is extracted from several letters, brought together, given headings, and arranged where possible in point-by-point format.