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Article ESSAY ON POLITENESS. ← Page 3 of 3
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Essay On Politeness.
his different guests , according to their different stations , to serve himself and a few select friends , and in the next place direct his attention to the inferior orders of his company , is observable in the well-bred gentleman of ancient Rome . Fashion , therefore , among the Romans , was hostile also to true politeness . Yet , among us , there were some individuals , who had more than a glimpse of this leasing quality ! Hear one of the most sensible of the ancients upon
p this subject . ' At a certain person ' s house , ' says Pliny , ' some very elegant dishes were served up to himself and a few more of us ; while those which were placed before the rest of the company were extremely mean . There were in small bottles , three different sorts of wine ; " not that the guests mig ht take their choice , but that they miht not have an option in their power . The best was for
himg self and his friends of the first rank ; and the next for those of a lower order ( for , you must know he measures out his friendship according to the different degrees of quality ) and the third for his own and his guests freed men . One who sat near me took notice of this circumstance , and asked me how I approved of it ? ' Not at all , * . I lied . " Pray then" said he " what is your method on such
occarep , , sions ?"—¦ ' Mine , ' I returned , ' is to give all my visitors an equal reception ; for when I make an invitation , it is to entertain , not to distinguish my company . I set every man on a level with myself whom ' I admit to my table , not excepting even my freed men , whom I look upon at those times to be my guests , as much as any of the rest . '*
That MODERN MANNERS are directly opposite to those of our ancestors and of the Romans , is sufficiently clear : yet they seem a , pretty exact transcript of Sir Francis Bacon ' s ideas , and the notions of the politer Pliny ; whilst they are perfectly consistent with the rules of genuine politeness . Nevertheless , we are apt to fancy , as we premised , that our politeness is merely the creature of the times , and unattainable by those who have never been introduced into the
best company , or who do not attend to the temporary dictates of fashion . But from the instances of Bacon and Plinj-, we may conclude that they were prior to all arbitrary rules , and even superior to caprice or custom . We must refer for their origin , therefore , to some immutable princip les in the mind of man : and , I believe , we shall not mistake , if we entitle them the offspring of GOOD SENSE
and BEMEVOLESCS . Pie who is in possession of those qualities must be , in every age , a gentleman . Happily , for the present age , the good manners which we have attempted to describe , seem universally diffused , whilst they harmonize with the reigning fashions . ' The courteous , ' indeed for fashion ' s sakemost frequently experienceon marking the effects of
, , their urbanity , the revival of smothered sensibilities : and ' the courteous from principle , ' cannot but indulge the . hope , that such sensibilities , repeatedly enkindled , may produce an illumination of the mind ; whilst that politeness which was involuntarily and fortuitously adopted , mavbe retained from a conviction of its decorum , propriety , and gracefulness .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Essay On Politeness.
his different guests , according to their different stations , to serve himself and a few select friends , and in the next place direct his attention to the inferior orders of his company , is observable in the well-bred gentleman of ancient Rome . Fashion , therefore , among the Romans , was hostile also to true politeness . Yet , among us , there were some individuals , who had more than a glimpse of this leasing quality ! Hear one of the most sensible of the ancients upon
p this subject . ' At a certain person ' s house , ' says Pliny , ' some very elegant dishes were served up to himself and a few more of us ; while those which were placed before the rest of the company were extremely mean . There were in small bottles , three different sorts of wine ; " not that the guests mig ht take their choice , but that they miht not have an option in their power . The best was for
himg self and his friends of the first rank ; and the next for those of a lower order ( for , you must know he measures out his friendship according to the different degrees of quality ) and the third for his own and his guests freed men . One who sat near me took notice of this circumstance , and asked me how I approved of it ? ' Not at all , * . I lied . " Pray then" said he " what is your method on such
occarep , , sions ?"—¦ ' Mine , ' I returned , ' is to give all my visitors an equal reception ; for when I make an invitation , it is to entertain , not to distinguish my company . I set every man on a level with myself whom ' I admit to my table , not excepting even my freed men , whom I look upon at those times to be my guests , as much as any of the rest . '*
That MODERN MANNERS are directly opposite to those of our ancestors and of the Romans , is sufficiently clear : yet they seem a , pretty exact transcript of Sir Francis Bacon ' s ideas , and the notions of the politer Pliny ; whilst they are perfectly consistent with the rules of genuine politeness . Nevertheless , we are apt to fancy , as we premised , that our politeness is merely the creature of the times , and unattainable by those who have never been introduced into the
best company , or who do not attend to the temporary dictates of fashion . But from the instances of Bacon and Plinj-, we may conclude that they were prior to all arbitrary rules , and even superior to caprice or custom . We must refer for their origin , therefore , to some immutable princip les in the mind of man : and , I believe , we shall not mistake , if we entitle them the offspring of GOOD SENSE
and BEMEVOLESCS . Pie who is in possession of those qualities must be , in every age , a gentleman . Happily , for the present age , the good manners which we have attempted to describe , seem universally diffused , whilst they harmonize with the reigning fashions . ' The courteous , ' indeed for fashion ' s sakemost frequently experienceon marking the effects of
, , their urbanity , the revival of smothered sensibilities : and ' the courteous from principle , ' cannot but indulge the . hope , that such sensibilities , repeatedly enkindled , may produce an illumination of the mind ; whilst that politeness which was involuntarily and fortuitously adopted , mavbe retained from a conviction of its decorum , propriety , and gracefulness .