A man’s fortune is frequently decided by his first address. If pleasing, others at once conclude he has merit; but if ungraceful, they decide against him.
—Earl of Chesterfield (1694–1773) English Statesman, Man of Letters
What once were vices are manners now.
—Seneca the Younger (Lucius Annaeus Seneca) (c.4 BCE–65 CE) Roman Stoic Philosopher, Statesman, Tragedian
Let thy carriage be friendly, but not foolishly free; an unwary openness causeth contempt, but a little reservedness, respect; and handsome courtesy, kindness.
—Thomas Fuller (1608–61) English Cleric, Historian
With virtue, capacity, and good conduct, one still can be insupportable. The manners, which are neglected as small things, are often those which decide men for or against you. A slight attention to them would have prevented their ill judgments.
—Jean de La Bruyere (1645–96) French Satiric Moralist, Author
No man is a true gentleman who does not inspire the affection and devotion of his servants.
—Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919) Scottish-American Industrialist
A man’s own manner and character is what most becomes him.
—Cicero (106BCE–43BCE) Roman Philosopher, Orator, Politician, Lawyer
Children are natural mimics who act like their parents despite every effort to teach them good manners.
—Unknown
Knowledge of men and manners, the freedom of habitudes, and conversation with the best company of both sexes, is necessary to the perfection of good manners.
—John Dryden (1631–1700) English Poet, Literary Critic, Playwright
Act the way you’d like to be and soon you’ll be the way you act.
—George W. Crane (1901–95) American Psychologist, Physician
To have a respect for ourselves guides our morals; and to have a deference for others governs our manners.
—Laurence Sterne (1713–68) Irish Anglican Novelist, Clergyman
Many people love in themselves what they hate in others.
—E. F. Schumacher (1911–77) German Mathematician, Economist
Manners are the shadows of virtues; the momentary display of those qualities which our fellow creatures love and respect. If we strive to become, then, what we strive to appear, manners may often be rendered useful guides to the performance of our duties.
—Sydney Smith (1771–1845) English Clergyman, Essayist, Wit
The basis of good manners is self-reliance.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Still people are dangerous.
—Jean de La Fontaine (1621–95) French Poet, Short Story Writer
To be always thinking about your manners is not the way to make them good; the very perfection of manners is not to think about yourself..
—Richard Whately (1787–1863) English Philosopher, Theologian
Good manners sometimes means simply putting up with other people’s bad manners.
—H. Jackson Brown, Jr. (b.1940) American Self-Help Author
Courtesy is the one coin you can never have too much of or be stingy with.
—John Wanamaker (1838–1922) American Merchant, Civil Servant
It’s not a slam at you when people are rude – it’s a slam at the people they’ve met before.
—F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940) American Novelist
I have seen manners that make a similar impression with personal beauty; that give the like exhilaration, and refine us like that; and, in memorable experiences, they are suddenly better than beauty, and make that superfluous and ugly. But they must be marked by fine perception, the acquaintance with real beauty. They must always show self-control: you shall not be facile, apologetic, or leaky, but king over your word; and every gesture and action shall indicate power at rest. Then they must be inspired by the good heart. There is no beautifier of complexion, or form, or behavior, like the wish to scatter joy and not pain around us. ‘Tis good to give a stranger a meal, or a night’s lodging. ‘Tis better to be hospitable to his good meaning and thought, and give courage to a companion. We must be as courteous to a man as we are to a picture, which we are willing to give the advantage of a good light.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Everything is worth precisely as much as a belch, the difference being that a belch is more satisfying.
—Ingmar Bergman (1918–2007) Swedish Film and Stage Director
What a rare gift is that of manners! How difficult to define; how much more difficult to impart!—Better for a man to possess them, than to have wealth, beauty, or talent; they will more than supply all.
—Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton (1803–73) British Novelist, Poet, Politician
Manners are of more importance than laws. Upon them, in a great measure, the laws depend. The law can touch us here and there, now and then. Manners are what vex or soothe, corrupt or purify, exalt or debase, barbarize or refine, by a constant, steady, uniform, insensible operation, like that of the air we breathe in. They give their whole form and color to our lives. According to their quality, they aid morals, they supply them, or they totally destroy them.
—Edmund Burke (1729–97) British Philosopher, Statesman
Complaisance renders a superior amiable, an equal agreeable, and an inferior acceptable. It smoothes distinction, sweetens conversation, and makes every one in the company pleased with himself. It produces good nature and mutual benevolence, encourages the timorous, soothes the turbulent, humanizes the fierce, and distinguishes a society of civilized persons from a confusion of savages.
—Joseph Addison (1672–1719) English Essayist, Poet, Playwright, Politician
There is a courtesy of the heart; it is allied to love.—From it springs the purest courtesy in the outward behavior.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
The over-formal often impede, and sometimes frustrate business by a dilatory, tedious, circuitous, and fussy way of conducting the simplest transactions. They have been compared to a dog which cannot lie down till he has made three circuits round the spot.
—Richard Whately (1787–1863) English Philosopher, Theologian
Our humanity rests upon a series of learned behaviors, woven together into patterns that are infinitely fragile and never directly inherited.
—Margaret Mead (1901–78) American Anthropologist, Social Psychologist
Affectation is an awkward and forced imitation of what should be genuine and easy, wanting the beauty that accompanies what is natural.
—John Locke (1632–1704) English Philosopher, Physician
Nothing, except what flows from the heart, can render even external manners truly pleasing.
—Hugh Blair (1718–1800) Scottish Preacher, Scholar, Critic
Intelligence and courtesy not always are combined; Often in a wooden house a golden room we find.
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–82) American Poet, Educator, Academic
Courtesy should be a continuous action, not something to be turned on and off like a faucet.
—Unknown
Leave a Reply