Who said “I am sure that since I have had the full use of my reason, nobody has ever heard me laugh.”?

Verified

Philip Dormer Stanhope. A published source records them saying or writing it.

SourceLetters to His Son on the Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman (1774), 9 March 1748

Evidence: Wikiquote · How we check

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Authors A–Z
“I am sure that since I have had the full use of my reason, nobody has ever heard me laugh.”
— Philip Dormer Stanhope
VerifiedLetters to His Son on the Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman (1774), 9 March 1748 · evidenceLaughter

Cite this quote

For academic work, cite the original where you can: Letters to His Son on the Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman (1774), 9 March 1748.

APA

Stanhope, P. D. (n.d.). I am sure that since I have had the full use of my reason, nobody has ever heard me laugh. [Quotation]. Famous Quotations Network. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/25476-i-am-sure-that-since-i-have-had/

MLA

Stanhope, Philip Dormer. “I am sure that since I have had the full use of my reason, nobody has ever heard me laugh.” Famous Quotations Network, https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/25476-i-am-sure-that-since-i-have-had/. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Stanhope, Philip Dormer. “I am sure that since I have had the full use of my reason, nobody has ever heard me laugh.” Famous Quotations Network. Accessed October 24, 2026. https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/25476-i-am-sure-that-since-i-have-had/.

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More quotes by Stanhope

“Every man becomes, to a certain degree, what the people he generally converses with are.”
Association
“Few men are of one plain, decided color; most are mixed, shaded or blended; and vary as much from different situations, as changeable silks do from different lights.”
Uniqueness
“A light supper, a good night's sleep, and a fine morning have sometimes made a hero of the same man who, by an indigestion, a restless night, and a rainy morning would have proved a coward.”
Coward and Cowardice
All 4 Philip Dormer Stanhope quotes →