IF YOU ARE WELL-BRED by Orison Swett Marden

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · May 18, 1904

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 30, No. 20.

IF YOU ARE WELL-BRED.

By Orison Swett Marden

[Orison Swett Marden, in February Success.]

You will be kind. You will not use slang. You will try to make others happy. You will not be shy or self-conscious. You will never indulge in ill-natured gossip. You will never forget the respect due to age. You will not swagger or boast of your achievements. You will think of others before you think of your-self. You will be scrupulous in your regard for the rights of others. You will not measure your civility by people's bank accounts. You will not forget engagements, promises, or obligations of any kind. In conversation you will not be argumentative or contradictory. You will never make fun of the peculiarities or idiosyncrasies of others. You will not bore people by constantly talking of yourself and your affairs. You will never, under any circumstances, cause another pain, if you can help it. You will not think that "good intentions" compensate for rude or gruff manners. You will be as agreeable to your social inferiors as to your equals and superiors. You will not sulk or feel neglected if others receive more attention than you do. You will not have two sets of manners; one for "company" and one for home use. You will never remind a cripple of his deformity, or probe the sore spots of a sensitive soul. You will not gulp down your soup so audibly that you can be heard across the room, nor sop up the sauce in your plate with bits of bread. You will let a refined manner and superior intelligence show that you have traveled, instead of constantly talking of the different countries you have visited. You will not remark, while a guest, that you do not like the food which has been served to you. You will not attract attention by either your loud talk or laughter, or show your egotism by trying to absorb conversation.