Quotes by Judith Martin

• When a society abandons its ideals just because most people can't live up to them, behavior gets very ugly indeed.
• You do not have to do everything disagreeable that you have a right to do.
• We are born charming, fresh and spontaneous and must be civilized before we are fit to participate in society.
• We already know that anonymous letters are despicable. In etiquette, as well as in law, hiring a hit man to do the job does not relieve you of responsibility.
• There are three social classes in America: upper middle class, middle class, and lower middle class.
• Parents should conduct their arguments in quiet, respectful tones, but in a foreign language. You'd be surprised what an inducement that is to the education of children.
• Most people who work at home find they do not have the benefit of receptionists who serve as personal guards.
• It's far more impressive when others discover your good qualities without your help.
• Indeed, Miss Manners has come to believe that the basic political division in this country is not between liberals and conservatives but between those who believe that they should have a say in the love lives of strangers and those who do not.
• If written directions alone would suffice, libraries wouldn't need to have the rest of the universities attached.
• Hypocrisy is not generally a social sin, but a virtue.
• Honesty has come to mean the privilege of insulting you to your face without expecting redress.
• Chaperons don't enforce morality; they force immorality to be discreet.
• Chaperons, even in their days of glory, were almost never able to enforce morality; what they did was to force immorality to be discreet. This is no small contribution.
• Many people mistakenly think a new technology cancels out an old one.
• You glance at an e-mail. You give more attention to a real letter.
• Life is like toilet paper, you’re either on a roll or you’re creating a mess.