第三冊第4篇：切斯特菲爾德伯爵給他兒子的信—談寫信

4 Lord Chesterfield to His Son About Letter Writing 切斯特菲爾德伯爵給他兒子的信—談寫信

Bath, Oct. 4, 1738

My Dear Child, -By my writing so often, and by the manner in which I write, you will easily see that I do not treat you as alittle child, but as a boy who loves to learn, and is ambitious of receiving instructions. I am even persuaded, that, in reading my letters,you are attentive, not only to the subject of which they treat, butlikewise to the orthography and to the style. It is of the greatestimportance to write letters well, as this is a talent which unavoidably occursevery day of one's life, as well in business as in pleasure; andinaccuracies in orthography or in style are never pardoned but in ladies. Whenyou are older, you will read the "Epistles" (that is to say Letters)of Cicero, which are the most perfect models of good writing. Apropos of Cicero, I must give you some account of him. He was an old Roman, wholived eighteen hundred years ago, a man of great genius, and the most celebrated orator that ever was. Will it not be necessary toexplain to you what an orator is ? I believe I must. An orator is a man who harangues in a public assembly, and who speaks with eloquence,that is to say,who reasons well, has a fine style and chooses his wordsproperly. Now never a man succeeded better than Cicero in all thosedifferent points; he used sometimes to speak to the whole people of Rome assembled, and by the force of his eloquence, persuaded them to whatever he pleased. At other times, he used to undertake causes,and plead for his clients in courts of judicature; and in thosecauses he generally had all the suffrages, that is to say, all theopinions, all the decisions. in his favour. While the Roman republic enjoyed its freedom, he did very signal services to his country, but afterit was enslaved by Julius Cacsar, the first Emperor of the Romans,Cicero became suspected by the tyrants, and was at last put to death byorder of Mark Antony, who hated him for the severity of his orations against him, at the time that he endeavored to obtain thesovereignty of Rome.

In case there should be any words in my Ietters which you do not perfectly understand, remember always to inquire theexplanation from your mamma, or else to seek for them in the dictionary.Adieu.

by Philip Dormer Stanhope Chesterfield