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About this quote

What does it mean?
Good manners are repeated actions that began as acts of love or skill.
In plain terms
Manners are habits that make life nicer.
What can you take from it?
Practice good manners to improve your daily interactions.

Where it applies

  • daily interactions
  • social etiquette
  • cultural practices

Putting it to work

  • teaching etiquette
  • building rapport
  • respecting others

Questions to consider

  • Why are manners important?
  • How do manners start?

Another view

Rigid manners can sometimes feel impersonal or fake.

More from Ralph Waldo Emerson

  1. If I could put my hand on the north star, would it be as beautiful? The sea is lovely, but when we bathe in it, the beauty forsakes all the near water. For the…

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  2. Fine manners need the support of fine manners in others, and this is a gift interred only by the self.

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  3. Things are pretty, graceful, rich, elegant, handsome, but, until they speak to the imagination, not yet beautiful.

    Permalink to quote #209

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