威廉·赫兹里特(William Hazlitt)
Etiquette to society is what apparel is to the individual. Without apparel men would go in shameful nudity which would surely lead to the corruption of morals; and without etiquette society would be in a pitiable state and the necessary intercourse between its members would be interfered with by needless offences and troubles. If society were a train, the etiquette would be the rails along which only the train could rumble forth; if society were a state coach, the etiquette would be the wheels and axis on which only the coach could roll forward. The lack of proprieties would make the most intimate friends turn to be the most decided enemies and the friendly or allied countries declare war against each other. We can find many examples in the history of mankind. Therefore I advise you to stand on ceremony before anyone else and to take pains not to do anything against etiquette lest you give offences or make enemies.
- apparel [əˈpærəl] n. 衣服，服装
- etiquette [ˈetɪkeɪt] n. 礼仪，规矩
stand on ceremony 讲究礼节
take pains 尽力
give offences 得罪，冒犯
礼仪之于社会犹如服饰之于个人。没有服饰，人将变得赤身裸体而丢人现眼，结果当然导致道德沉沦；没有礼仪，社会也将处于可悲状况，其成员间必要的交往就会被不必要的冒犯和麻烦所干扰。如果社会是一列火车，礼仪就是只有火车可以沿着它隆隆前行的铁轨。如果社会是一架豪华四轮大马车，礼仪就是唯有马车可以赖以辘辘前行的车轮与轴。缺乏得当的礼仪，密友反目成仇，盟友之邦刀兵相见。人类历史上不乏相关例证。为此我诚心相劝：除非存心冒犯或树敌，你应该待人彬彬有礼，千万不要做有违礼仪之事。
威廉·赫兹里特(1778—1830)，英国散文家、文学评论家。他思想激进，能言善辩，文笔犀利。作品包括剧评、多样化主题散文、小品文和文学评论。主要有《莎士比亚戏剧中的人物》(The Characters of Shakespeare's Plays， 1817)，《英国舞台一瞥》(View of the English Stage， 1818)，《论英国诗人》(Lectures on the English Poets， 1818)，《燕谈录》(Table Talk ，1821—1822)等。