Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield Quotes
Violent measures are always dangerous, but, when necessary, may then be looked on as wise. They have, however, the advantage of never being matter of indifference; and, when well concerted, must be decisive.
Stanhope, Philip Dormer. Letters to His Son on the Fine Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman. Edited by Oliver H. G. Leigh, M. Walter Dunne, 1901.
Clay in his speech gave credit for the sentiment to Josiah Quincy
Greek invaders were marching on Istanbul
Iraq’s program of mass destruction weapons development
He had a lifelong hatred toward the Internal Revenue Service. Finally he crashed his single engine airplane into the IRS offices, killing an IRS agent and committing suicide in a different version of suicide bombing.
Stalin did not want any political opposition with its own militia. American gun control opponents often cite this quotation to show that in Russia, Stalin achieved dictatorial power by disarming the population in general and only allowing government officials to have guns. They argue that even Stalin could not have tyrannized the entire Soviet Union if every citizen had the right to bear arms as provided for by the Second Amendment.
A variant of this quotation was used by Admiral of the German Navy. See {609658}.
Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, was a British statesman, and a man of letters, and wit. Educated at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, he subsequently embarked on the Grand Tour of the Continent, to complete his education as a nobleman, by exposure to the cultural legacies of Classical antiquity and the Renaissance, and to become acquainted with his aristocratic counterparts and the polite society of Continental Europe.
