Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield Quotes

You know, at the end of the day, the only thing you have is trust and honor in this world. That's all you have. All you have is your reputation built on trust and your personal honor. When you don't have that anymore, well, you know, there you go. Trust was broken.

Of all the properties which belong to honorable men, not one is so highly prized as that of character.

Manners easily and rapidly mature into morals.

Convinced that behavior and conduct are every bit as important as skills and expertise, I sought to build the firm into an enduring, values-based institution.

My concern today is not with the length of a person's hair but with his conduct.

I'd like to be known for my character.

Action, looks, words, steps, form the alphabet by which you may spell character.

Never descend to the ways of those above you.

Reputation is what other people know about you. Honor is what you know about yourself.

I personally like Adams ... I respect him because of his personal and official integrity.

You see a lot of talented people, but you usually don't see talented people who, behind the scenes, know how to conduct themselves on a higher level.

As long as I can look my family in the face every day, and they know what type of person I am, I'm cool.

People can call me what they like - fat, ugly, sour - but tell me I'm not fair, tell me I'm not ethical, those are the things that bother me.

Listen, anybody that knows me knows I'm not disrespectful.

Your peers will respect you for your integrity and character, not your possessions.

When away from home always be like the kind of man you would care to take into your own home.

A gentleman is mindful no less of the freedom of others than of his own dignity.

In the end, all you have is your reputation.

The thing that must be preserved in all situations whatever is the reputation of one's character.

A good reputation is better than fame.

One of the biggest things you have is your reputation and your reputation with knowing what's good and what's not good.

You can ask anyone who knows me, I've never said a racist or prejudiced thing in my life.

I suspect that with men like General Petraeus, where honor means something - losing your life is secondary to losing your honor.

Dignity does not consist in possessing honors, but in deserving them.

It's better to not have a reputation than a bad one.