Related:

• Quote #390 "Sick cultures show a complex of symptoms .
  .. but a *dying* culture invariably exhibits personal rudeness....
• NOISE, n. A stench in the ear. Undomesticated music.
  The chief product and authenticating sign of civilization....
• True knowledge lies in knowing how to live. -- Gracia
• Politeness is asking a beggar if he'll take a check.
• The chief aim of their constitution and government is tha
  whenever public needs permit, all citizens should be free, so far as possible, to withdraw their time and energy from the service of the body, and devote themselves to the freedom and culture of the mind....
• Better mad with the rest of the world than wise alone. -- Baltasar Gracia
• Never contend with a man who has nothing to lose. -- Baltasar Gracia
• To know how to refuse is as important as to know how to consent. -- Baltasar Gracia
• Honorifics and formal politeness provide lubrication where people rub together.