tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19727420.post7479787040034664075..comments2024-03-23T12:05:13.464-07:00Comments on Ideas: The Courtesy of PrincesDavid Friedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06543763515095867595noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19727420.post-85774526445239326712012-01-22T00:55:22.912-08:002012-01-22T00:55:22.912-08:00"David Friedman said...
... a large part of ...<i>"David Friedman said...<br /><br />... a large part of the cost of inflating the honor is born by those who already have it."</i><br /><br />Agreed. Inflation is always so.SheetWisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13762534904369877435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19727420.post-58378376245687393632012-01-22T00:08:16.640-08:002012-01-22T00:08:16.640-08:00I agree with the point made by Anonymous about doc...I agree with the point made by Anonymous about doctors, though from a patient's point of view. Is it a truly universal phenomenon, or only in my own experience, that doctors make appointments with patients but are themselves late for almost every appointment? To coin a phrase, "Unpunctuality is the discourtesy of doctors."Jonathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15661031964537092605noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19727420.post-40889022876164696322012-01-21T17:06:01.424-08:002012-01-21T17:06:01.424-08:00Two commenters suggest that knighting is not costl...Two commenters suggest that knighting is not costless to the king, since the more knights he makes the less valuable the favor is to the next one. There is some truth to that. <br /><br />On the other hand, a large part of the cost of inflating the honor is born by those who already have it.David Friedmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06543763515095867595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19727420.post-40339918165657412132012-01-21T09:43:19.427-08:002012-01-21T09:43:19.427-08:00"aldel said...
Knighthood is a currency that...<i>"aldel said...<br /><br />Knighthood is a currency that monarchs can use as a reward. It's subject to inflation."</i><br /><br />I had the same thought, as I recently reviewed some Irish history along this line.SheetWisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13762534904369877435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19727420.post-30406694657152678842012-01-21T07:34:35.476-08:002012-01-21T07:34:35.476-08:00"If the King knights someone, that's grea..."If the King knights someone, that's great for the recipient, but it does not actually cost the King anything."<br /><br />I don't think this is true. Knighthood is a currency that monarchs can use as a reward. It's subject to inflation.aldelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19727420.post-16312659273982938752012-01-21T06:58:39.889-08:002012-01-21T06:58:39.889-08:00Jan is right that the origin of the phrase if prob...Jan is right that the origin of the phrase if probably German, where it is a commonplace expression (even though it may first have been spoken by a French king).<br /><br />But I interpret it a little differently than the good Professor does. Politeness in general, and in particular in hierarchical, aristocratic societies, consists out of elaborate displays of deference and humility before all of one's social peers. By pretending to hold them in higher esteem than oneself, one elaborately avoids all pretense of higher status--the cardinal sin against politeness.<br /><br />Now kings cannot engage in most of these displays. Their status depends on a universal recognition that they are "above" everybody else, even the most senior members of the aristocracy. For a king to publicly put himself down before anybody else would practically correspond to an abdication.<br /><br />So one of the few signals available to kings that they respect and value their subjects is to be punctual. Nobody could ever call them on being tardy. But by being punctual the king shows that he makes an effort to spare his subjects inconvenience.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05653308181484454720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19727420.post-34028826920150295552012-01-21T03:49:22.364-08:002012-01-21T03:49:22.364-08:00In southern California there is a civil unlimited ...In southern California there is a civil unlimited jurisdiction judge who routinely takes the stand anywhere from 1.5 to 2 hours after the "calendar time" of 8:30am. I have appeared in court court over a dozen times over a period of 5 years and not once has she been less than 75 minutes late. <br /><br />Imagine all the money being wasted as 30-50 attorneys sit around doing nothing for 2 hours, but billing their clients nonetheless.Charles Collomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12375298171300441216noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19727420.post-52859482166814845982012-01-21T03:47:39.069-08:002012-01-21T03:47:39.069-08:00This comment has been removed by the author.Charles Collomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12375298171300441216noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19727420.post-25216758622986483542012-01-20T21:50:48.388-08:002012-01-20T21:50:48.388-08:00Jan: Thanks.Jan: Thanks.David Friedmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06543763515095867595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19727420.post-71784287814524697322012-01-20T21:39:51.476-08:002012-01-20T21:39:51.476-08:00As a med student it never ceases to amaze me how i...As a med student it never ceases to amaze me how important punctuality is to doctors--unless it involves their own punctuality (the fact that a patient has been waiting for an hour or two is not nearly as important).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19727420.post-60085363934136638382012-01-20T20:50:56.953-08:002012-01-20T20:50:56.953-08:00I'm always baffled by professors who are late ...I'm always baffled by professors who are late to their own classes. It seems extremely rude to the students. Eric.Eric Goldmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01593907559974631866noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19727420.post-66305297082035984812012-01-20T20:08:38.923-08:002012-01-20T20:08:38.923-08:00You ask for the origin of the phrase. The German p...You ask for the origin of the phrase. The German phrase "Pünktlichkeit ist die Höflichkeit der Könige" ("Punctuality is the courtesy of kings") is probably based on the same origin. According to the German Wikipedia [1], the phrase is attributed to King Louis XVIII of France ("L’exactitude est la politesse des rois"). Apparently the banker Jacques Laffitte cites the king with these words in his memoirs. I also found a book attributing the phrase to Louis XVIII [2].<br /><br />[1] http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_gefl%C3%BCgelter_Worte/P#P.C3.BCnktlichkeit_ist_die_H.C3.B6flichkeit_der_K.C3.B6nige.<br />[2] http://books.google.de/books?id=fgaUQc8NbTYC&pg=PA229&lpg=PA229&dq=%22L%E2%80%99exactitude+est+la+politesse+des+rois%22+king+louie&source=bl&ots=eTz49dsvK4&sig=IbB1b390zFJpNamxIFSGrGzw84w&hl=en&sa=X&ei=5zkaT6e0KMiq-AbV1oDECg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22L%E2%80%99exactitude%20est%20la%20politesse%20des%20rois%22%20king%20louie&f=falseJannoreply@blogger.com