Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Quotes

Manners are not idle, but the fruit of loyal and of noble mind.

Howard and Shirley were clothed, always, in an invisible layer of decorum that they never laid aside.

Fits did not go over well in my house. There was a lot of discipline and obedience and you had to be very ladylike. Ladies didn't curse and I still don't curse in front of my parents.

We must watch over our modesty in the presence of those who cannot understand its grounds.

Let's not confuse traditional behaviours with good manners. The definition of etiquette is gender neutral - it simply means we strive at all times to ensure a person in our company feels at ease.

Though shyness per se was unacceptable, reserve was a mark of good breeding.

Tis a rule of manners to avoid exaggeration.

Without an acquaintance with the rules of propriety, it is impossible for the character to be established

Manners form the great charm of women.

Politeness, however, acts the lady's maid to our thoughts; and they are washed, dressed, curled, rouged, and perfumed, before they are presented to the public.

such is the effect of true politeness, that it banishes all restraint and embarassment.

I was raised right — I talk about people behind their backs. It's called manners.

She was a woman who, between courses, could be graceful with her elbows on the table.

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.

Decorum -- that bug-bear which deters so many from bliss until the opportunity for bliss has forever gone by.

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

I don't want to talk grammar. I want to talk like a lady.

You must be more gentle, dear, more sedate,' Ellen told her daughter. 'You must not interrupt gentlemen when they are speaking, even if you do think you know more about matters than they do. Gentlemen do not like forward girls.

If you cannot conduct yourself with propriety, give place to those who can.

Indiscretion has always seemed to me to be one of the privileges of tact.

Most disquieting reflection of all, was it not bad form to think about good form?

Propriety was a rigid master, but one that must be obeyed if one wanted to keep a sterling reputation.

No rule of etiquette is of less importance than which fork we use.

Naturally Shirley had known, as they slid stock words and phrases back and forth between them like beads on an abacus, that Howard must be as brimful of ecstasy as she was; but to express these feelings out loud, when the news of death was still fresh in the air, would have been tantamount to dancing naked and shrieking obscenities, and Howard and Shirley were clothed, always, in an invisible layer of decorum that they never laid aside.

The company of women of fashion will improve your manners, though not your understanding; and that complaisance and politeness, which are so useful in men's company, can only be acquired in women's.