ABSTRACT
In certain dialects of Italian, people whose manners are not quite what they ought to be are described by the phrase non conosce il Galateo, meaning that had they read the famous sixteenth-century treatise on good manners and politeness, Della Casa’s Galateo, their behaviour would have considerably improved. They would, for instance, have read numerous passages such as the following:
Those people who dispute every statement by questioning or contradicting show that they have little understanding of human nature, because everyone likes to have the upper hand and hates to be worsted no less in argument than in practice. Besides, it is the part of an enemy rather than a friend to take the opposite side. It follows that anyone who wants to be friendly and pleasant to talk to must not be too ready to say, ‘It was not at all like that’ or ‘Let me just give you the true facts’, nor should he stake a wager on the matter. Instead, if the question is of little importance, he should make an effort to submit to the opinions of the others, because a point gained in cases of this sort will turn to his own disadvantage. This is because we often love our friends through outwitting them on small points and making ourselves so tiresome to them that they dare not have anything to do with us for fear of a continual bout of controversy. Then they give us the nickname of Fire-eater, Crosspatch, Wise Bird, or Know-all.1
