Courtesy Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old courtesy quotes, courtesy sayings, and courtesy proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.

Courtesy should be a continuous action, not something to be turned on and off like a faucet. Anonymous
Nothing is ever lost by courtesy. It is the cheapest of the pleasures costs nothing and conveys much. It pleases him who gives and him who receives, and thus, like mercy, it is twice blessed. Erastus Wiman
Courtesies of a small and trivial character are the ones which strike deepest in the grateful and appreciating heart. Henry Clay
Lack of courtesy is an extreme form of disrespect. Khaleel Datay
There is no outward sign of true courtesy that does not rest on a deep moral foundation. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
He who sows courtesy reaps friendship. Saint Basil
Politeness is the art of choosing among your thoughts. Madame De Stael
Good manners have much to do with the emotions. To make them ring true, one must feel them, not merely exhibit them. Amy Vanderbilt
Courtesy is a silver lining around the dark clouds of civilization; it is the best part of refinement and in many ways, an art of heroic beauty in the vast gallery of man's cruelty and baseness. Bryant H. McGill
The greater person is one of courtesy. Lord Alfred Tennyson
Good manners are just a way of showing other people that we have respect for them. Bill Kelly
Courtesy and kindness cultivate confidence with good Netiquette. Doing things right makes you feel good. David Chiles
Courtesy is a small act but it packs a mighty wallop. Lewis Carroll
There can be no defence like elaborate courtesy. Lucas
No one is more insufferable than he who lacks basic courtesy. Bryant McGill
To succeed in the world it is not enough to be stupid, you must also be well-mannered. Voltaire
Courtesy is sometimes imperceptible, but its absence turns out to be poignant. Julita Davies
It is better to have too much courtesy than too little, provided you are not equally courteous to all, for that would be injustice. Baltasar Gracian
Good manners without sincerity are like a beautiful dead lady. Yukteswar Giri
Good manners are ageless, priceless and classless. Diana Mather
Courtesy is simply doing unto others what you would like them to do unto you. Anonymous
Courtesy is a lady's armor. Sophie Turner
A good manners will open doors that the best education cannot. Clarence Thomas
Good manners and soft words have brought many a difficult thing to pass. John Vanbrugh
No one is too big to be courteous, but some are too little. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Courtesy costs nothing, but buys everything. Hazrat Ali Ibn Abu-Talib A.S
Courtesy dictates that we offer fellow wizards the opportunity of denying us entry. J.K. Rowling
Courtesy is as much a mark of a gentleman as courage. Theodore Roosevelt
There is a kind of courtesy in skepticism. It would be an offense against polite conventions to press our doubts too far. George Santayana
Courtesy and good humor are often found with little real worth. Samuel Johnson
A man's own good breeding is the best security against other people's ill manners. Lord Chesterfield
Courtesy is the one coin you can never have too much of or be stingy with. John Wanamaker
There is a courtesy of the heart it is allied to love. From its springs the purest courtesy in the outward behavior. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
An excess of courtesy is discourtesy. Anonymous
Courtesy is only a thin veneer on the general selfishness. Honoré de Balzac
True politeness consists in being easy one's self, and in making every one about one as easy as one can. Alexander Pope
To be humble to superiors is duty, to equals courtesy, to inferiors nobleness. Benjamin Franklin
The small courtesies sweeten life the greater ennoble it. Christian Nestell Bovee
When music and courtesy are better understood and appreciated, there will be no war. Confucius
If a man be gracious and courteous to strangers, it shows he is a citizen of the world. Francis Bacon
Be calm in arguing for fierceness makes error a fault, and truth discourtesy. George Herbert
Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence. George Washington
I have always felt that if a man gives you a solid gold key to his door he is entitled to the courtesy of a visit. Hedy Lamarr
Intelligence and courtesy not always are combined often in a wooden house a golden room we find. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Clothes and manners do not make the man but when he is made, they greatly improve his appearance. Henry Ward Beecher
It is impossible to practice parliamentary politics without having patience, decency, politeness and courtesy. Khaleda Zia
Courtesy while you're thinking what to say. It saves time. Lewis Carroll
When restraint and courtesy are added to strength, the latter becomes irresistible. Mahatma Gandhi
For nothing is more commendable, nothing more becoming in a preeminently great man than courtesy and forbearance. Marcus Tullius Cicero
Every human being is entitled to courtesy and consideration. Constructive criticism is not only to be expected but sought. Margaret Chase Smith
life is a gift, and i try to respond with grace and courtesy Maya Angelou
Courtesy is a science of the highest importance. It is opening a door that we may derive instruction from the example of others, and at the same time enabling us to benefit them by our example, if there be anything in our character worthy of imitation. Michel de Montaigne
The knowledge of courtesy and good manners is a very necessary study. It is like grace and beauty, that which begets liking and an inclination to love one another at the first sight. Michel de Montaigne
The habit of attending to small things and of appreciating small courtesies is one of the important marks of a good person. Nelson Mandela
Don't flatter yourself that friendship authorizes you to say disagreeable things to your intimates. The nearer you come into relation with a person, the more necessary do tact and courtesy become. Oliver Wendell Holmes
He who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love Proverb
Life is short, but there is always time for courtesy. Ralph Waldo Emerson
The first point of courtesy must always be truth. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Little kindness and courtesies are so important. In relationships, the little things are the big things. Stephen Covey
Courtesy is the due of man to man; not of suit-of-clothes to suit-of-clothes. Thomas Carlyle
All doors open to courtesy Thomas Fuller
Really big people are, above everything else, courteous, considerate and generous - not just to some people in some circumstances - but to everyone all the time. Thomas J. Watson
There are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never happened before. Willa Cather
Six essential qualities that are the key to success. Sincerity, personal integrity, humility, courtesy, wisdom, charity. William C. Menninger