Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1867-10-26
PoliteneSz.

We once heard clergyman, in adr0-
eating the cultivation of habits of eourte-
sy, say, although there is no direct
command in the Bible for this grace the
spirit of Christianity imperatively de-
mands it."
The good man was mistaken in his first
assertion. In the Bible there is direct
command for pollteness; and, in both
new and old Testaments, there are many
Indirect commentators Of this grace to
the attention Of all men. "Be courteous, q.
says Peter. "IIonor all men," EsIn hon
or preterring one another" says Paul.
"ThOu shalt rise up before the hoary
head, and hono- the face ofthe old fnan."
Lev. NIX, 30. >..s
'Let your speech be always with
grace" Col. iv, 8. J.
''Greet ye one another with kiss Of
love" Peter, V, II. ..... e.
Good threatened it as an evil that the
child should behave proudly against the
ancient" Isa. iii, 5. 0..
And these arc but u small part of the
indictments to the cultivation of gentle
behavior that the Bible gives.
What is the excuse, then, for ignoring
this point of duty, as too many Christians
do? They cali pOlitencss small and trivial
They even regard it as sayoring of light
ness and conformity to the world. At
any rate, they consider it Of very much
less importance than it really is.
And there are many men who, in their
own homes or the social circle of friends,
would be ashamed to act the churl, who
yet, i'll their business manners, and to all
other persons are but rude, ungracious,
intractable, selfwilled and over-bearing
beings. They excuse themselves from all
obligations to graciousness and urbanity
Of manner, and justify their iuciYility on
the ground that they are in hurry.
But that it is not the hurry so much rs
the i'll bred nature that ails them, is
abundantly proved by the behavior of
other men-gentlemen indced-who, al-
though quite as usefully and busily en-
ployed as the former, quite as important
to The world, do, Notwithstanding, al
ways remember their politeness, not Only
to woman who chance to approach them,
but also to men.
Such gentlemen, although not often of
the class thai i'll company would scald
their own throats, and eat soup with Il
fork, rather than offend the arbitrary and
senscless conventionalitics of fashion, or
who go into Spasms of admiration and
adulation in presence of the fine clothes
and costly ornaments of Il woman, or who
would not kneel to beauty, and tawn OBJ
scquiously upon influence, are the refined
and thoroughbred gentlemen who would
not slight or wound single heart, that
God has made power to feel that hurt.
These men are the worlds nobility
they are Of the true patriarchal blood,
though instead of being ''to the manor
BORN" they inherit but an attic They
are a perpetual rebukc and reproach to
all that rude and surly class, also to that
carelessly discourtcous class, who feel
that crabbedness and accommodating
ways, or ut least that inattentlOn and
rudeness are excusable because a man is
busy. One may as well say that stealing
is excusable because man is poor, or
that anything is excusable one is tempted
strongly to do. Any man, however
much Of boor he may be by nature and
habit, can, if he has nothing else to think
of, manage to treat people respectfully
and politely; but to do SO still, TO do so
habitually, when business presses, whek
time is short, when confusion reignS, this
is what shows the soul Of real gentle