Maria Popova explores George Washington’s Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation, a list of 110 guidelines he penned when he was 15 years old:
Some, at the intersection of the dated and the timeless, expose the parallel progress of cultural conventions and technology: For instance, Washington admonishes against reading “letters, books, or papers in company” — the then-equivalent of looking at your iPhone during a dinner party. Some speak to the enduring importance of critical thinking: “Be not hasty to beleive flying Reports to the Disparag[e]ment of any.” Some advocate for the humanizing effect of compassion: “When you see a Crime punished, you may be inwardly Pleased; but always shew Pity to the Suffering Offender.” Some remind us of how our personal micro-culture shapes us: “Associate yourself with Men of good Quality if you Esteem your own Reputation; for ’tis better to be alone than in bad Company.”
The last item from the list:
Labour to keep alive in your Breast that Little Spark of Ce[les]tial fire Called Conscience.
The Dish 