Chesterfield, Earl of

Earl of (1694-1773), an English officeholder. He held various positions under George I, as gentleman of the bedchamber to the Prince of Wales, ambassador to Holland, and lord lieutenant of Ireland. He wrote essays, critical and humorous, as well as a series of letters to his son,--little essays full of worldly wisdom, shrewd advice, caustic comment, and insincerity. Though unprincipled, he was eloquent in his manner, and posed as a patron of letters. He pretended to encourage Samuel Johnson in the publication of his dictionary. When Dr. Johnson became convinced of the earl's duplicity he finished the work without his aid. At its publication Chesterfield attempted to revive the old relationship. Dr. Johnson published an open letter to him, which is considered the most scathing and caustic of the sort in literature. A single sentence must suffice by way of quotation:

Is not a patron, my Lord, one who looks with unconcern on a man struggling for life in the water, and, when he has reached ground, encumbers him with help?

Lord Chesterfield was not without political penetration. Concluding a letter prior to the French Revolution, he writes, "In short, all the symptoms which I have ever met with in history previous to great changes and revolutions in government now exist and daily increase in France."

See Johnson