Etiquette in today’s life
1.When people ask, as they frequently do, Is etiquette still important today isnt it old-
fashioned and outdated? I can honestly reply, Of course not! A knowledge of basic manners
carries very definite advantages. First, manners help smooth the path between people, to
establish a pleasant relationship. Second, a knowledge of basic good manners gives us self-
confidence. And third, a knowledge of good manners simply makes us more attractive and
who (way down deep) doesnt want to be liked? Elizabeth Post, Emily Posts Etiquette, 14th
ed. Harper and Row, 1984, p. xiv. Material omitted.
2.Friendship; . . . is the most necessary relation for our life. For no one would choose to live
without friends even if he had all the other goods. For in fact rich people and holders of
powerful positions, even more than other people, seem to need friends. For how would one
benefit from prosperity if one had no one to share it with. . . and how would one guard and
protect prosperity without friends, when it is all the more precarious the greater it is? In
poverty also, and in all other misfortunes, people think friends are the only refuge. Moreover,
the young need friendship to keep them from error. And the old need it to care for them. . . and
those in their prime need it too, to do brave actions for when two go together they are more
capable. Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics 1155a115. Material omitted.
