Courtesy

Be easy to reach — by anyone, at any time. That, they say, is the simplest road to the life called courtesy.

Love for others and the inheritance of a worthy family — these two together are the wellspring of courtesy.

Matching limbs do not make people alike. Only matching character — the kind worth embracing — makes one person truly equal to another.

Those who live with justice, do good, and make themselves useful to others — the world does not merely respect their character. It celebrates it.

Mockery wounds even when disguised as laughter. Those who understand this carry their courtesy intact — even into the company of enemies.

The world endures because it rests on the courteous. Without them, it would sink into the earth and vanish.

Sharp as a file, they may be. But without human decency, they are trees — nothing more.

Even toward those who refuse friendship and deal only in harm — to lose your courtesy before them is the lowest fall.

For those who cannot share in the warmth of fellowship, this wide earth sits in darkness — even at noon.

Great wealth in the hands of the graceless is good milk poured into a filthy vessel — it turns, and turns fast.