The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1873-10-16
Good Manners q Duty.

GOO0 manners u DUCys
MEN often speak of good manners as an
accomplishment. speak of them as
duty. What, then, are good mannersr
Such manners as the usages of society
have recognized as being agreeable to
men. Such manners as take away rude
ness, and remit to the brute creation all
coarseness. There are great many who
feel that good manners are effeminate
They have feeling that rude bluntness
is q great deal more manly than good
manners. 1t is great deal more bedstly
But when men are crowded in communi.
ties, the art of living together is no small
art. How to diminish friction; how to
promote ease of intercourse; how to make
every part of mans life contribute to
the welfare and satisfaction of those
around him; how to keep down offensive
pride; how to Danish the raspings of sell
fishness from the intercourse of men how
to move among men inspired by various
and conf1ictive motives, and yet not have
collisions-this is the function of good
manners.
1t is not effeminate to be refined. And
in this land no man should plead inabili
ty. There may be peasantry in other
countries, there may be class in foreign
lands, who have no opportunities; there
may be those whose toll is so continuous,
whose opportunities for knowing what
constitutes good manners are so few, and
whose ignorance is 80 gross, that they are
excusabie; but this is not the case with
any within the sound of nay voice.
That man is a mechanic, is no reason
why he should not be a perfect gentle
man. affirm for every American citizen
the right to be not simply man, but
go0d-naannered man. have seen men at
the anvil who were as perfect gentlemen
as men of books or men of society. I
know no reason why a. man who tans
hides should not be gentleman. know
no reason why man who digs in the
soil, man who works in metals and
woods, man who builds, should not be
perfect gentleman. There is nothing in
mechanical occupations which is incom-
patible with the highest courtesy.
Not only is the violation Of good man.
ners inexcusable on ordinary grounds,
but it is sinful. When, therefore, parents
and guardians and teachers would inspire
the young with desire for the manners
of good society, it is not to be thought
that they are accomplishments which may
be accepted or rejected. Every man is
bound to observe the laws of politeness.
1t is the expression of goodwill and kind
ness. 1t promotes both beauty in the
man who possesses it, and happiness in
Gus duty, and should be q part of re-
ligious training.
There is great deal of contempt ex-
pressed for what is called etiquette in So
ciety. Now and then there are elements
of etiquette which perhaps might we'll be
ridiculed; but in the main there is just
reason for all those customs which come
under the head of etiquette There is a
reason which has regard to facility of in
tercourse. There is a reason in the avoid
ance of offense. There is a reason in
comfort and happiness. And no man can
afford to violate these unwritten customs
of etiquette who wishes to act as Christ
ian gentleman.
may speak, also, of tendency which
is bred by our institutions-the want Of
veneratiOn. There are various ways in
which this want of veneration shows
itself. We often hear that there is not the
same respect shown for the aged that
there used to be. We know that there is
very little respect shown for magistrates
and men in authority. This is partly due,
l think, to the institutions under which
we live One OF the unfortunate effects
derived from the early stages of demo.
cratic training is the sense of personal
sovereignty; the feeling that we stand on
as high ground as anybody else. Under
monarchial institutions men are taught t.
revere the great and glorious government
The feeling ofreverence does not prevail tc
any great extent among us. l discern {
great lack in this respect. Children, now
a-days, are brought up to be pert, to b.
saucy, to be almost without restraint
They are brought to have very little re
gard either for their parents or for theil
superiors. And, although there are 1
great many Christian households where
children are rightly bred in this regard, il
seems to me there mas been a decay OF
that instruction which used to prevail, the
tendency of which was to make children
modest and respectful. We bring up oul
children to be old, and smart, and imper
inent.
This courtesy which carries with it re
spect; this testimony of veneration to the
aged; this yielding ones self in thou
sand little society rites for the sake Of
making others happy-oh, what bright
ness it gives to life! What beauty, wha
adornment it gives to Christian character
There are many other points that
might speak of. The effect Of punctuality
and order; the relations which men sus
tain to each others convenience and ne
cessities-these, and hundred othe1
branches of this subject, I might dis
course upon; but it is not necessary that
should 60 into them. have given sucl,
examples as I have, merely as specimens,
for the purpose Of calling your attention
to the minutcness and carefulness with
which the Scripture inculcates these
things. 1t enjoins not merely the right
spirit, but the right spirit manifested in
the most beautiful way.-Ertracts from a
Sermon by Henry Ward Beecher.