George Mikes Quotes

People in England have a lot of respect. It is relaxed here.

There can be no high civility without a deep morality, though it may not always call itself by that name.

There is no society or conversation to be kept up in the world without good-nature, or something which must bear its appearance and supply its place. For this reason mankind have been forced to invent a kind of artificial humanity, which is what we express by the word Good-Breeding.

I think our culture encourages all of us to always put our best foot forward. I think it's a good thing. I think it's nice to rise to the occasion, to be kind and considerate, and have self control.

My family brought me up to be very respectful of people.

We must learn which ceremonies may be breached occasionally at our convenience and which ones may never be if we are to live pleasantly with our fellow man.

Civilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be impolite without having their skulls split.

Let us behave like ladies and gentlemen and refrain from damaging property.

The American sense of decorum is falling apart.

It's one of these things that I've been struck by for so long about America. You know, this amazing politeness of American life that's not at all class specific. It's not like people get more polite as ascend the hierarchy of society. Just incredible good manners. It's always been something that I've noticed.

We're supposed to be civilized. We're supposed to go to work every day. We're supposed to be nice to our friends and send Christmas cards to our parents.

I don't approve the informality in the world today, Mr. James. It's made strangers of us all.

Don't be so concerned with your rights that you forget your manners.

The politer the society, the greater the lies it requires.

Good manners, to those one does not love, are no more a breach of truth, than "your humble servant," at the bottom of a challengeis; they are universally agreed upon, and understand to be things of course. They are necessary guards of the decency and peace of society.

Familiarity is a suspension of almost all the laws of civility, which libertinism has introduced into society under the notion of ease.

If an armed nation were a polite nation, America would be paradise. We have more than 200 million guns in private owernship here. But our manners are not getting better.

In civilized communities men's idiosyncrasies are mitigated by the necessity of conforming to certain rules of behavior. Culture is a mask that hides their faces.

Manners are the root, laws only the trunk and branches. Manners are the archetypes of laws. Manners are laws in their infancy; laws are manners fully grown,--or, manners are children, which, when they grow up, become laws.

Good manners require space and time.

It is in bad taste," is the most formidable word an Englishman can pronounce.

The society of women is the element of good manners.

Good general-purpose manners nowadays may be said to consist in knowing how much you can get away with.

Gentleness is the great point to be obtained in the study of manners.

to be civilized is to be incapable of giving unnecessary offense, it is to have some quality of consideration for all who cross our path.