''Rules of Civility & Decent Behaviour In Company and Conversation'' is the name of a list best known as a school writing exercise of

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

, who became the first

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

. Most of the rules have been traced to a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

etiquette Etiquette () is the set of norms of personal behaviour in polite society, usually occurring in the form of an ethical code of the expected and accepted social behaviours that accord with the conventions and norms observed and practised by a ...

manual written by

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

in 1595 entitled "Bienséance de la conversation entre les hommes". As a handwriting exercise in around 1744, Washington merely copied word-for-word Francis Hawkins' translation which was published in England in about 1640. The list of rules opens with the following: #Every Action done in Company, ought to be with Some Sign of Respect, to those that are Present. #When in Company, put not your Hands to any Part of the Body, not Discovered. #Shew Nothing to your Friend that may affright him. #In the Presence of Others Sing not to yourself with a humming Noise, nor Drum with your Fingers or Feet. #If You Cough, Sneeze, Sigh, or Yawn, do it not Loud but Privately; and Speak not in your Yawning, but put Your or Hand before your face and turn aside. The exercise goes on to list a total of 110 such rules. The list features in the plot of the

Amor Towles Amor Towles (born 1964) is an American novelist. He is best known for his bestselling novels ''Rules of Civility'' (2011), ''A Gentleman in Moscow'' (2016), and ''The Lincoln Highway'' (2021). Early life and education Towles was born and raise ...

novel ''Rules of Civility'', which is named after it.

Footnotes

External links

{{wikisource, The Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation, Rules of Civility …
Transcript

NPR article
George Washington Etiquette