Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1873-10-16
Good Manners q Duty.

Good Manners q Duty.
MEN often speak Of good manners as an
accomplishment. | speak of them as a
| duty What, then, are good manners?
| 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 etfeminate
They have a feeling that rude bluntness
is a great deal more manly than good
manners. 1t is great deal more 6eastty
But when men are crowded in commune
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
| tishness from the intercourse of men; how
to move among men inspired by various
and contiictive motives, and yet not have
! collsions--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'a 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 so gross, that they are
excusabie; but this is not the case with
any within the sound of my voice.
That man is a mechanic, is no reason
why he should not be a perfect gentle
man l affirm for every American citizen
the ri ht to be not simply man, but a
! Qo0d3aan7.ered man. j have seen men at
the anvil who were as perfect gentlemen
| as rlcn of books or men of society. /
know no reason why nlan who tans
hides should not be a gentleman. / know
no reason why man who digs in the
soil, man who works in metals and
woods, n man who builds, should not be
a 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 ineXcusablc on ordinary grounds,
but ii is sinful. When, therefore, parents
and guardians and teachers would inspire
the young with u desire for the manners
of good society, IL is not to be thought
that they are accomplishment which may
be accepted or rejected. Every man is
bound to observe the laws of polleness.
1t is the expression of goodwill and kind
ness 1t promotes both beauty in the
man who possesses it, and happiness in
those who are about him. 1t is religi.
Gus duty, and should be q part of re-
! ligious training.
There is a great deal of contempt ex-
pressed for what is called etiquette in So
cicty. Now and then there are elements
| Of f; NJ oh v,arhana m ityht we'll hp
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 offensc. 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 vcneTation 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
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 to
revere the great and glorious government.
The feeling of reverence does not prevail TO
any great extent among us. ! discern a
great lack In this respect. Children, now
a-days, are brought up to be pert, to be
saucy, to be almost without restraint.
They are brought 10 have very little re-
gard either for their parents or for their
superiors. And, although there are a
great many Cbristian households where
children are rightly bred in this regard, 1t
seems To me there mas been decay OF
that instruction which used To prevail, the
tendency of which was to make children
children to be old, and smart and imper-
| inent.
This courtesy which carries with 1t re.
spect; this testimony Of vencration to the
aged this yielding ones self in thou.
sand little society rites for the sake OF
making others happy-oh, what bright
adorn 1cnt it gives to Christian character
There are many other points that i
might speak Of The effect Of punctuality
and order; the relations which men sus-
tain 10 each others convenience and ne
cessities--these, and hundred other
branches Of this subject, l might dis
course upon; but it is not necessary that l
should 60 into them. have given such
examples az have, merely rs specimens,
for the purpose Of calling your attention
tn the influences 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.-Ertracls from a
Sermon by Henry Ward Beecher.