Politeness is as much concerned in answering letters within a reasonable time, as it is in returning a bow, immediately. – Lord Chesterfield
Patience is a most necessary qualification for business; many a man would rather you heard his story than granted his request. – Lord Chesterfield
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. – Lord Chesterfield
Physical ills are the taxes laid upon this wretched life; some are taxed higher, and some lower, but all pay something. – Lord Chesterfield
Letters are above all useful as a means of expressing the ideal self; and no other method of communication is quite so good for this purpose. In letters we can reform without practice, beg without humiliation, snip and shape embarrassing experiences to the measure of our own desires… – Elizabeth Hardwick
I am sorry.. Can only say time accelerated and skidded…. When my correspondents reproach me for tardiness, I can only say that I give as much attention to a letter as I do to anything I write, and I work at least six and sometimes sixteen hours a day. – William S. Burroughs, letter to Mother and Dad, 1959