George Washington's Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour

_George Washington's Rules of Civility_ was written by a young teenage Washington as part of a classroom assignment in 1745. He copied down, probably dictated by a teacher, the 110 "Rules of Civility". Rules range from the banal to the profound, from the peculiar to the universal. Some of the more entertaining examples include the age-old rule of double-dipping: "If you dip your bread or meat into the gravy, do not do so immediately after biting a piece off.." while other rules reveal some thankfully forgotten habits: "Bones, peel, wine and the like should not be thrown under the table..." This volume is edited by John Phillips and includes a fascinating investigation of the rules origins, going back through many authors and variations, originating with a Florentine Italian Humanist in the early 16th century. This type of book is part of the genre known as the Courtesy Book which were popular in the Middle Ages and Renaissance as ways for "new men" to enter polite society. Today books like this would be called self-help, although it is unfortunate the basic rules of civility are not longer part of standard education. This is a great little volume full of timeless wisdom. That fact that George Washington wrote it down at age 14 makes it all the more fascinating to connect the past in a relevant way with the present that I think most people can easily connect with.

Whether this little 30 page book is worth the price or whether George Washington copied these as a penmanship excercise from an english translation of some 16th century French Jesuit writings is immaterial. After you read these "Rules of Civility" you will feel like carrying this little red book around with you and handing it to rude people to read Rule # 1 "Every action done in company aught to be with some sign of respect to those that are present."How can our kids and grandkids get exposed to this kind of thinking?

This collection of rules of civility was copied from a larger volume by George Washington as a small boy. The larger volume was used throughout the 18th century for the character development of upperclass gentlemen. While a few of these rules are more amusing than helpful, the overall work serves to provide the interested person a means by which to refine their conduct. Drop the self help books and adopt these rules into habit for a no-nonsense approach to better public living.

Never before was written a more accurate and detailed guide on the subject of proper manners and customs. I wholeheartedly recommend this volume to anyone wishing to better themselves.

What could be better than to learn what made the most important man in American history act the way he did? The precepts are as vaild today as they were in George Washington's time. Richard Brookhiser's editoral comments are educational as well as entertaining. Being a rather short book, I recommend reading it a least twice.