George Washington's Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and…

A quick and interesting little collection of aphorisms on courtesy and respect by George Washington. He wrote this when he was 14 years old, and these maxims are not original, but selected by Washington from an English translation of a French book of etiquette. It may be more appropriate to identify the young Washington as the editor rather than the author. Much of the wisdom is common sense, "Sleep not while others speak" or "Jog not the table or desk where another reads or writes." Others are bits of antiquated etiquette. There are a number which would improve the world if more people were to observe them. ( )

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 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.

--Review by Stephen Balbach, via CoolReading (c) 2008 cc-by-nd ( )

110 incredible "rules of conduct" written by George Washington at age 14! Bound in red leather with gold stamping on spine and cover [bbt/06@NatPkServGiftShop:Boston)