Emily Post

“Charm is the enchanted dart, light and subtle as a hummingbird. But it is a weapon.”

“Whenever two people come together and their behavior affects one another, you have etiquette.”

“Taste, if you like, is a sense of the fitness of things.”

“The most vulgar person is the one who is proud of his wealth.”

“Etiquette is the science of living. It embraces everything. It is ethics. It is honor.”

“Ideal conversation must be an exchange of thought, and not, as many of those who worry most about their social graces suppose, an eloquent exhibition of wit or oratory.”

“The letter you write, whether you realize it is or not, is always a mirror which reflects your own image.”

“Nothing is less important than which fork you use. Etiquette is the science of living.”

“The truest mark of being born with great qualities is being born without envy.”

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

“Style is the mirror of your soul.”

“Good manners are a combination of intelligence, education, taste, and style.”

“An overdose of praise is like 10 lumps of sugar in coffee; only a very few people can swallow it.”

“To the old, the new is usually bad form.”

“A gentleman is always a gentleman.”

“The good American, in his friendly way, is an idealist, a moralist, and a sentimentalist.”

“Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter what fork you use.”