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[ This is off of "Health Tip #34", one of a series of (usually) health-
  related informational bulletins. ]

Excerpted from Panati's _Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things_.


                        Early Table Manners

    A Christian and philosopher and educator, Erasmus of Rotterdam, the
greatest classical scholar of the northern Humanist of Renaissance,
determined that manners was the best instilled at an early age.  Here are some
samples from the three century best seller, _On Civility in Children_ (c.1530):

    "Turn away when spitting lest your saliva fall on someone.  If anything
    purulent falls on the ground, it should be trodden upon, lest it
    nauseate someone."

    "To lick greasy fingers or to wipe them on your coat is impolite.  It is
    better to use the table cloth or the serviette."

    "Some people put their hands in the dishes the moment they have sat
    down.  Wolves do that."

    "You should not offer your handkerchief to anyone unless it has been
    freshly washed.  Nor is it seemly, after wiping your nose, to spread out
    your handkerchief and peer into it as if pearl and rubies might have
    fallen out of your head."

    "If you cannot swallow a piece of food, turn around discreetly and
    throw it somewhere."

    "Retain the wind by compressing the belly."

    "Do not be afraid of vomiting if you must; for it is not vomiting but
    holding the vomit in your throat that is foul."

    "Do not move back and forth on your chair.  Whoever does that gives
    the impression of constantly breaking or trying to break wind."

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