"Since it is the case that you are now just beginning that journey
that I have for the most part as you see completed, that is, the
one through mortal life, and loving you so very much as I do, I
have proposed to myself - as one who has been many places - to show
you those places in life where, walking through them, I fear you
could easily either fall or take the wrong direction." So begins
"Galateo", a treatise on polite behavior written by Giovanni Della
Casa (1503-56) for the benefit of his nephew, a young Florentine
destined for greatness. In the voice of a cranky yet genial old
uncle, Della Casa offers the distillation of what he has learned
over a lifetime of public service as diplomat and papal nuncio. As
relevant today as it was in Renaissance Italy, Galateo deals with
subjects as varied as dress codes, charming conversation and
off-color jokes, eating habits and hairstyles, and literary
language. In its time, Galateo circulated as widely as
Machiavelli's Prince and Castiglione's "Book of the Courtier".
Mirroring what Machiavelli did for promoting political behavior,
and what Castiglione did for behavior at court, Della Casa here
creates a picture of the refined man caught in a world in which
embarrassment and vulgarity prevail. Less a treatise promoting
courtly values or a manual of savior faire, it is rather a
meditation on conformity and the law, on perfection and rules, but
also an exasperated-often theatrical-reaction to the diverse ways
in which people make fools of themselves in everyday social
situations. With renewed interest in etiquette and polite behavior
growing both inside and outside the academy, the time is right for
a new, definitive edition of this book. More than a mere etiquette
book, this restored edition will be entertaining (and even useful)
for anyone making their way in modern civilized and polite society,
and a subtle gift for the rude neighbor, the thoughtless dinner
guest, or the friend or relative in need of a refresher on proper
behavior.
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