Rules of Civility for the Fourth of July Weekend

George Washington armed himself as a soldier, certainly, but as a youth he armed himself with propriety.  As the story goes, Washington was a young man committed to bettering himself, and as part of that effort, he transcribed over one hundred of the instructional items from a book called Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation.

For the collective benefit, we reprint some of those rules today in order to provide a service and to provoke thought over this coming holiday weekend.

• Eat not in the streets nor in the house out of season.

• Run not in the streets; neither go too slowly nor with mouth open; go not shaking your arms; kick not the earth with your feet; go not upon the toes nor in a dancing fashion.

• Spit not in the fire, nor stoop low before it.  Neither put your hands into the flames to warm them, nor set your feet upon the fire, especially if there be meat before it.

• Put not your meat to your mouth with your knife in your hand; neither spit forth the stones of any fruit pie upon a dish nor cast anything under the table.

• Cleanse not your teeth with the table cloth, napkin, fork, or knife; but if others do it, let it be done with a pick tooth.

• If you soak your bread in the sauce, let it be no more than what you put in your mouth at a time; and blow not your broth at table but stay till it cools of itself.

And finally, one of our own: Have a safe and enjoyable Independence Day.