Never seem more learned than the people you are with. Wear your learning like a pocket watch and keep it hidden. Do not pull it out to count the hours, but give the time when you are asked.
Philip Stanhope, 4Th Earl Of ChesterfieldRead
Wear your learning like your watch, in a private pocket; and do not pull it out, and strike it, merely to show that you have one.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Value your knowledge discreetly rather than showing it off.
This quote emphasizes the importance of humility in learning. It suggests that one should possess knowledge for personal growth and not for the purpose of showcasing it to others, similar to keeping a watch in a pocket instead of flaunting it publicly.
Themes
LearningHumilityKnowledgeWisdomEducation
In practice
Example use cases
A teacher might use this quote to inspire students to focus on internal growth rather than external validation.
More from Philip Stanhope, 4Th Earl Of Chesterfield
All quotes βIn the mass of mankind, I fear, there is too great a majority of fools and knaves; who, singly from their number, must to a certain degree be respected, though they are by no means respectable.
Philip Stanhope, 4Th Earl Of ChesterfieldRead
It is always right to detect a fraud, and to perceive a folly; but it is very often wrong to expose either. A man of business should always have his eyes open, but must often seem to have them shut.
Philip Stanhope, 4Th Earl Of ChesterfieldRead
Be wiser than other people if you can, but do not tell them so.
Philip Stanhope, 4Th Earl Of ChesterfieldRead
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