Common sense (which, in truth, is very uncommon) is the best sense I know of: abide by it; it will counsel you best.
Lord ChesterfieldRead
A man of sense only trifles with them, plays with them, humors and flatters them, as he does with a sprightly and forward child; but he neither consults them about, nor trusts them with, serious matters.
Interpretation
It suggests that one should treat those who lack maturity or experience with care, keeping serious matters separate from them.
In this quote, Lord Chesterfield expresses the idea that individuals who possess wisdom and maturity recognize that not everyone is equipped to handle serious issues. Instead, they engage lightly with those who may be less experienced or less capable, similar to how one would interact with a spirited child, ensuring that important decisions are left to those who can understand and manage them.
In practice
This quote could be used in a leadership seminar to discuss trusting team members with important tasks.
Common sense (which, in truth, is very uncommon) is the best sense I know of: abide by it; it will counsel you best.
Never seem wiser, nor more learned, than the people you are with. Wear your learning, like your watch, in a private pocket: and do not merely pull it out and strike it; merely to show that you have one.
If you can once engage people's pride, love, pity, ambition on your side, you need not fear what their reason can do against you.
Merit and knowledge will not gain hearts, though they will secure them when gained.
Firmness of purpose is one of the best instruments of success.
Wit is so shining a quality that everybody admires it; most people aim at it, all people fear it, and few love it unless in themselves. A man must have a good share of wit himself to endure a great share of it in another.
With everything that has happened to you, you can either feel sorry for yourself or treat what has happened as a gift. Everything is either an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to keep you from growing. You get to choose.
Do you prefer that you be right or happy?
The spirit of Lincoln still lives; that spirit born of the teachings of the Nazarene, who promised mercy to the merciful, who lifted the lowly, strengthened the weak, ate with publicans, and made the captives free. In the light of this divine example, the doctrines of demagogues shiver in their chaff.
You wish to see; listen. Hearing is a step toward Vision.
The idea that to make a man work you've got to hold gold in front of his eyes is a growth, not an axiom. We've done that for so long that we've forgotten there's any other way.
In a controversy, the instant we feel anger, we have already ceased striving for truth and have begun striving for ourselves.
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