William Pitt the Elder Quotes
William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham was a British Whig statesman who achieved his greatest fame as war minister during the Seven Years' War (aka French and Indian War) and who was later Prime Minister of Great Britain. He is often known as William Pitt the Elder to distinguish him from his son, William Pitt the Younger.
(1708 - 1778)
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Bowing, ceremonious, formal compliments, stiff civilities, will never be politeness; that must be easy, natural, unstudied; and what will give this but a mind benevolent and attentive to exert that amiable disposition in trifles to all you converse and live with?
[Politeness]
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Confidence is a plant of slow growth in an aged heart.
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Don't talk to me about a man's being able to talk sense; everyone can talk sense. Can he talk nonsense?
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Eloquence is in the assembly, not merely in the speaker.
[Eloquence]
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Good-breeding is benevolence in trifles, or the preference of others to ourselves in the daily occurrences of life.
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I would have inscribed on the curtains of your bed, and the walls of your chamber, "If you do not rise early, you can never make progress in anything. If you do not set apart your hours of reading, if you suffer yourself or any one else to break in upon them, your days will slip through your hands unprofitably and frivolous, and really unenjoyed by yourself."
[Idleness]
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If I were an American, as I am an Englishman, while a foreign troop was landed in my country I never would lay down my arms, - never! never! never!
[Revolution]
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If you are not right toward God, you can never be so toward man; and this is forever true, whether wits and rakes allow it or not.
[Religion]
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It is injustice to permit slavery to remain for a single hour.
[Slavery]
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Moderation, which consists in an indifference about little things, and in a prudent and well-proportioned zeal about things of importance, can proceed from nothing but true knowledge, which has its foundation in self-acquaintance.
[Moderation]
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The parks are the lungs of London.
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The poorest man may in his cottage bid defiance to all the force of the crown. It may be frail - its roof may shake - the wind may blow through it - the storm may enter - the rain may enter - but the King of England cannot enter! - all his force dares not cross the threshhold of the ruined tenement!
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The sum and substance of the preparation needed for a coming eternity is that you believe what the Bible tells you, and do what the Bible bids you.
[Religion]
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Theoretical principals must sometimes give way for the sake of practical advantages.
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Trade increases the wealth and glory of a country; but its real strength and stamina are to be looked for among the cultivators of the land.
[Agriculture]
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