Philip Dormer Stanhope, fourth Earl of Chesterfield, was perhaps the politest man in an age that took its manners seriously and one of the wittiest in an age that specialized in that rare, volatile, and exasperating commodity. When an old friend, Solomon Dayrolles, came to pay his last respects to Chesterfield on his deathbed, the earl asked his servant, in a final, polite gesture, to "Give Dayrolles a chair." These last words confirmed a lifetime devoted to the cultivation of ease, the expression of attention, the imparting of instruction, and the solicitation of goodwill. In the pursuit of these ends Chesterfield delivered speeches, composed essays, and conducted an extensive correspondence, most notably a long series of letters on polite behavior addressed to his illegitimate son--the work for which he is still best known.

While Chesterfield's wit and integrity still shine through the polish he put on everything he...