lord chesterfield uses many rhetorical devices in the letter to his son written in the eighteenth-century. for instance, the authors use of strong diction when he writes, "... ascribed to the moroseness, the imperiousness, or the garrulity of old age." to be able to convince his young son to take his advice. Chesterfield writes, "I do not mean to dictate as a parent, I only mean to advise you as a friend". in doing this, Lord chesterfield persuades his son to take his advice into consideration, instead of ignoring it like most kids do when they are told to do something by thier parents. Chesterfield Also uses a rhetorical question when he writes, "for can there be a greater pleasure than to be universally allowed to excel those one's own age