epitomizes all the rest is, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."
True courtesy is simply the application of this golden rule to all our
social conduct, or, as it has been happily defined, "real kindness,
kindly expressed." It may be met in the hut of the Arab, in the
courtyard of the Turk, in the hovel of the freedman, and the cottage of
the Irishman. Even Christian men sometimes fail in courtesy, deeming it
a mark of weakness, or neglecting it from mere thoughtlessness. Yet when
we find this added to the other virtues of the Christian, it will be
noted that his influence for good upon others has been powerfully
increased, for it was by this that he obtained access to the hearts of
others. An old English writer said reverently of our Saviour: "He was
the first true gentleman that ever lived." The influence of many good
men would be more than doubled if they could manage to be less stiff and
more elastic. Gentleness in society, it has been truly said, "is like
the silent influence of light which gives color to all nature; it is far
more powerful than loudness or force, and far more fruitful. It pushes
its way silently and persistently like the tiniest daffodil in spring,
which raises the clod and thrusts it aside by the simple persistence of
growing."


POLITENESS.

Politeness is kindness of manner. This is the outgrowth of kindness of
heart, of nobleness, and of courage. But in some persons we find an
abundance of courage, nobleness and kindness of heart, without kindness
of manner, and we can only think and speak of them as not only impolite,
but even rude and gruff. Such a man was Dr. Johnson, whose rudeness
secured for him the nickname of Ursa Major, and of whom Goldsmith
truthfully remarked, "No man alive has a more tender heart; he has