Manners makyth man
Marcus Aurelius said once "our thoughts decide the quality of our life", this book is a self-help that teaches you how you change your manners to change your life and your personality.
Excerpt:
Vanity, ill-nature, want of sympathy, want of sense these are the chief sources from which bad manners spring. Nor can we imagine an incident in which a man could be at a loss as to what to say or do in the company, if he were always considerate for the feelings of others, forgot himself, and did not lose his head or leave his common sense at home. Such a one may not have studied etiquette, he may be chaotic rather than " good form," as the slang expression is; and yet, because his head and heart are sound, he will speak and act as becomes a gentleman.
On the other hand, a very pedant in form and bigot in ceremonies may be nothing better than the "mildest-mannered man that ever cut a throat." As we can be wise without learning, so it is quite possible to be well-mannered with little or no knowledge of those rules and forms which are at best only a substitute for common sense, and which cannot be considered essential to good manners, inasmuch as they vary in every country, and even in the same country change about with the weathercock of fashion.
Vanity renders people too self-conscious to have good manners, for if we are always thinking of the impression we are making, we cannot give enough attention to the feelings and conversation of others. Without trying to be natural an effort that would make us most artificial we must be natural by forgetting ourselves in the desire to please others. Elderly unmarried students, and those who lead lonely lives generally, not infrequently acquire awkward manners, the result of self-conscious sensitiveness.
Download PDF book 14 MB
Download PDF book 14 MB