G. Good Humor and Good Manners
1. Plutarch (AD46?-120? AD) in Moral Virtue
“…the Greeks very properly call manners xxxx (custom); for they are nothing else, in short, but certain qualities of the irrational and brutal part of the mind, and hence by them are so named, in that this brutal and irrational part of the mind being formed and moulded by right reason, by long custom and use (which they call xxxx), has these qualities or differences stamped upon it. Not that reason so much as attempts to eradicate our passions and affections, which is neither possible nor expedient, but only to keep them within due bounds, reduce them into good order, and so direct them to a good end; and thus to generate moral virtue, consisting not in a kind of insensibility, or total freedom from passions, but in the well-ordering our passions and keeping them within measure, which she effects by wisdom and prudence, bringing the faculties of that part of the soul where our affections and appetite are seated to a good habit.” [C165 R472 p233]
2. Dryden (1631-1700) discussing Plutarch
Some problem…was his usual divertisement at supper, which he mingled also with pleasant and more light discourses; for he was no sour philosopher, but passed his time as merrily as he could with reference to virtue. He forgot not to be pleasant while he instructed, and entertained his friends with so much cheerfulness and good-humor that his learning was not nauseous to them; neither were they afraid of his company another time. He was not so austere as to despise riches, but being in possession of a large fortune he lived, though not splendidly, yet plentifully; and suffered not his friends to want that part of his estate which he thought superfluous to a philosopher. [R431vi p xix]
3. 1747 One Hundred and Ten Rules of Civility written by George Washington about age 15
Rule 105: “…Good Humour makes one Dish of Meat a Feast.” [R53 C11 p64]
Rule 58: “…in all Causes of Passion (ad)mit Reason to Govern.” [R53 C11 p47]
[These rules can be traced to French Jesuits as early as 1595. Washington wrote an edited version of a 1640 English translation.]
4. 1760: Laurence Sterne, Tristam Shandy,
I live in a constant endeavour to fence against the infirmities of ill health, and other evils of life, by mirth; being firmly persuaded that every time a man smiles,---but much more so, when he laughs, that it adds something to this Fragment of Life. [B579 p7]
5. 1760 Spring: Thomas Jefferson age 16, Patrick Henry age 24.
Thomas Jefferson, age 16, on his way to college at William and Mary, stopped to spend a few days as the guest of Colonel Dandridge . On this occasion, Jefferson met Patrick Henry, who was then about age 24. Henry danced, he played the fiddle, sang. Henry occasionally visited Jefferson at Williamsburg. [B244p14-15 paraphrased]
6. 1782 (?): Benjamin Franklin to Joseph Banks of the Royal Academy
“Your philosophy seems to be too bashful. In this country we are not so much afraid of being laughed at. If we do a foolish thing, we are the first to laugh at it ourselves…” [B27 p226]
7. 1808 Jefferson to Rush
“What I value more than all things (is) good humor.” [B24 p157]
8. Jefferson to Randolf
“I have mentioned good humor as one of the preservations of our peace and tranquility.” [B63 p511-512]