“Manners maketh the man.”
It “maketh” the woman too – just to be clear! That’s how the saying goes. Even Sir Edmund Burke thought that manners are of more importance than laws. He said that manners are that which vex or soothe us, which corrupt or purify, exalt or debase, barbarize or refine our nature.
In a letter to his son, Lord Chesterfield advised him that manners must adorn knowledge and that it must smooth its way through the world. Ralph Waldo Emerson also had a word or two to say about manners. To him, good manners are made up of petty sacrifices; manners are the happy way of doing things; each one is a stroke of genius or of love, and when repeated it becomes hardened into usage. They form at last a rich varnish, with which the routine of life is washed and its details adorned. If they are superficial, so are the dewdrops which give such depth to the morning meadows.
Good manners, according to Amy Vanderbilt, also have much to do with the emotions because, in order to make them ring true, one must feel them, not merely exhibit them. Now, please do rethink the validity of the expression “manners maketh the man (and the woman)”. I believe that, among others, there is truth in the opinion that manners constitute much of our make-up as decent humans. I do want to add – and this is my humble opinion – that this (having a solid set of manners) is becoming a rare trait nowadays. People are very self-centred, disrespectful and arrogant, so let us keep our focus on harbouring good manners, not only towards ourselves but also towards our fellow human beings.
I wish this world could be adorned with banners
stating: “please people – cultivate good manners!”
Manners elevate us from brutish levels
and in the process free us from any destructive devils...
Comments
Post a Comment