Statesman, orator, and man of letters, eldest son of the third earl, born in London; sat in the House of Commons from 1716 to 1726; was an opponent of Walpole; held office under the Pelhams; in 1748 retired from deafness, or perhaps disgust, into private life; celebrated for his "Letters to his Son," models of elegance, though of questionable morality, which it appears he never intended to publish, and for the scorn with which Dr. Johnson treated him when he offered to help him, after he no longer needed any, in a letter which gave the death-blow to the patronage of literature; is credited by Carlyle with having predicted the French Revolution; it should be added, the "Letters" were printed by his son's widow (1694-1773).