Why don't we get this book in the first grade? Why haven't you given this book to your children? Though written in old English, just a simple list of rules that we should still be teaching our young people, let alone a good refresher for our own behavior. ( )

Some very good rules of manner, but I couldn't help but cringe when I read the rule for vermin on someone.
I think if George Washington were to see today's society he would be appalled, but as his rules would abide, he wouldn't comment on them, but would keep them to himself until he could write about them in his journal.
All in all, it's an interesting read to see where society manners were and where they have gone to. ( )

George Washington wrote Rules for Civility & Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation at the age of 14 (in 1746) while drawing upon an English translation of an earlier French deportment guide. A couple of my favorites are 22 and 23: "Show not yourself glad at the misfortune of another, though he were your enemy" and "When you see a crime punished, you may be inwardly pleased, but always show pity to the suffering offender."
The maxims grant insight into the young Washington's philosophy as well as the prevailing attitudes regarding behavior and deportment around the time of the American Revolution. Some more background or an introductory essay comparing Washington's edition with the original English and French volumes would have been nice, but this will still entertain those interested in the development of standards for deportment and early American codes of conduct. ( )

At the age of 14, George Washington translated and copied down a list of 110 French maxims on civility and decent behavior. Reading these, I'm willing to bet that Washington would be appalled at the current state of civility in the world, but then, I'm sure there were also plenty of people in his own time that appalled him if he truly believed and followed all of these rules.

I think my favorite of the bunch is number 12: "Shake not the head, feet, or legs; roll not the eyes; lift not one eyebrow higher than the other; wry not the mouth; and bedew no man's face with your spittle by approaching too near him when you speak." Firstly, I'm willing to bet the French writer included the eyebrow thing just because he couldn't do it, and felt annoyed when others could. Second, we really should use the word "bedew" more often these days.

You may remember hearing this book get a mention on Aaron Sorkin's The West Wing. President Bartlett is seen reading the book at one point and explains to his aide Charlie how the book came to be. Then he calls Washington a "poncy little twerp" after reading one of the maxims (the 2nd one, I believe. I'm too tired to Google it right now. The quote from Bartlett could be off as well, but he definitely calls George "poncy"). ( )

I couldn't rate this less than four stars! Having been thought important by so importance a personage, who am I to quibble?

As for the two most important documents in the [American] English language, I do wonder in what century they will be deemed unintelligible? ( )