36. Remember the Person Hosting You

An example from logic, and then a quiet rule about how to sit at a table.

"Either it is day or it is night" is a proper statement for one kind of logical argument but not for another.

In the same way, at a feast, taking the largest share may suit the body's appetite, but it is entirely against the social spirit of a banquet.

When you eat with another, then, remember not only the value of the food set before you, for the body, but also the value of the conduct that is owed to the person who is hosting you.

What this means. Good manners at the table are not a show. They are a small daily practice in remembering other people.