“Every Action done in Company, ought to be with Some Sign of Respect, to those that are Present.”

A Requiem for Manners

by Stephen M. Klugewicz

Christian chivalry, Burke believed, “made power gentle” and served to “beautify and soften private society.” It harmonized human relations. Without it, society could only be held together by brute force and cold reason. Gone would be the warmth of considerate human relations, corrupted would be the morals of men, and all would be reduced to slaves.
“Every Action done in Company, ought to be with Some Sign of Respect, to those that are Present.” This maxim had presided over Western culture since the Middle Ages, and it was exemplified in the courtly manners of the upper classes everywhere and at all times...


http://www.crisismagazine.com/2012/a-requiem-for-manners