In the 14th Century during the reign of Edward III, Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester, a statesman and a great patron of learning in England, founded a great school and a college and gave the same motto to both the school and the college – “Manners maketh Man”.
Now in modern English, the word ‘manners’ means outward behaviour. But in the days of Bishop Wykeham, the word ‘manners’ had a much deeper meaning than it has today. It did not denote merely polite behaviour, but what we should call good moral conduct on morality. This shows that the founder did not regard education as merely mental training and acquisition of knowledge, but especially moral training. He wanted his school and his college to produce true men – good, honest, fearless and God-fearing men.
Manners include etiquette, politeness, sympathy, discipline and social conduct. What are good manners? The first principle that underlies good manners is to show consideration for the feelings of others, never trying to hurt the feelings of others and refraining from speaking in a rude or uncouth way in social situations. Simultaneously, one must care for the convenience, comfort and happiness of others more than for his own. One must learn to respect not only older people or people superior to him but also everybody’s right to freedom and privacy. Good manner help us to create an atmosphere of co-operation and friendliness, sweeten the relation and make life smooth and peaceful. Manners can make or mar our personality. Good manners support us in achieving our goals in life, help us to become successful in business, or any profession. They cost nothing but pay us rich dividends. Great people and personalities are made through characters and not by the crew of possessions or elegant nature of clothes. The character is not genetically inherited from the family or influenced from the surrounding through friends and peers. IT is the accumulation of the struggle and understanding. Precisely, it can be viewed as our attitude and approach to define and live with people in the society. Character must not be confused with reputation. A man’s reputation is what other people think about him – what he appears to be others. A man’s character is his real moral condition – what he really is. Moreover, character is the reflection of mind and soul which hold one accountable and firm in any diverge situation.
Good manners change from age to age. They cannot remain fixed. The good manners of a slave society cannot be the good manners of a feudal or a capitalistic or a socialistic society. Each type of society has its own manners. The standards and ideals of good manners differ in different countries, for different nations have different customs. In England, it is considered a mark of respect to take one’s hat off in a church or in another person’s house or when one meets one’s acquaintance in the street; but in India good manners require that one should keep one’s head-wear on.
We should never feel proud as all gifts come from God and it is He who bestows all the qualities upon us. If we study the lives of great men we will come to know that they were men of principles. Mahatma Gandhi used to say: “Simplicity, humility and truthfulness should be practised by every man”. This is the key to success in life. The worth of good character to a nation cannot be over-estimated. The fall of great nations and powerful empires in the past has always been due to moral decay. It is the good men and women – the just, merciful, unselfish, pure-minded, conscientious people, in a nation, that keep it strong and preserve it from decay. They are the ‘Salt of the Earth’.
Herein lies the secret of success in life:
“Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Foot prints on the sand of time”
