O children, give ear your duties to learn,
How at the table you may yourselves
govérn.
Presume not too high, I say, in no case;
In sitting down, to thy betters give
place.
Suffer each man first servéd to be;
For that is a point of good courtesy.
When they are served, then pause a space,
For that is a sign of nurture and grace.
Salt with thy knife then reach and take,
The bread cut fair, and do not it break.
Thy spoon with pottage too full do not fill,
For [de]filing the cloth, if thou fortune to spill.
For rudeness it is thy pottage to sup,
Or speech to any, his head in the cup.
Thy knife see be sharp to cut fair thy meat,
Thy mouth not too full when thou dost eat;
Not smacking thy lips, as commonly do hogs,
Nor gnawing the bones as it were dogs;
Such rudeness abhor, such beastliness fly,
At the table behave thyself mannerly.
Thy fingers see clean that thou ever keep,
Having a napkin thereon them to wipe;
Thy mouth therewith clean do thou make,
The cup to drink in hand if thou take,
Let not thy tongue at the table walk,
And of no matter neither reason nor talk.
Temper thy tongue and belly alway,
For “measure is the proverb doth say,
treasure,”
And measure in all things is to be used;
What is without measure ought to be refused.
For silence keeping thou shalt not be
shent,[351]
Whereas thy speech may cause thee repent.
Both speech and silence are commendáble,
But silence is meetest in a child at the table.