The Remains of the Day
by Parker · 18 things on Twos
- It’s wrong that a man can’t get to see around his own country.
- There is no virtue at all in clinging to tradition merely for its own sake.
- Don’t give yourself too much to do.
- Be careful not to interrupt people while they are preoccupied or distracted. Choose your moment wisely.
- Have a good pair of legs and a good pair of lungs.
- Travel while you still can.
- Have a healthy anticipation for the many interesting experiences in store for yourself.
- Have a calmness of beauty. Know your beauty, know your greatness, and feel no need to shout it.
- What is a great butler?
- Master the basic fundamentals.
- Do not show one hint of discomfort or anger.
- The great butlers are great by virtue of their ability to inhabit the professional role and inhabit it to the utmost. They will not be shaken out by external events however surprising or alarming. They wear their professionalism as a decent gentleman. He or she discards it when and only when he or she wills to do so and this will invariably be when he or she is entirely alone.
- Control yourself in moments of strong emotion. Maintain a professional demeanor other than in the least challenging of situations.
- Listen at the door before knocking.
- Great decisions are not arrived at simply in the public chambers. Debates are conducted, and crucial decisions arrived at, in the privacy and calm of the great houses of this county.
- It is essential to keep one's attention focused on the present; to guard against any complacency creeping in on account of what one may have achieved in the past.
- A worker should never allow himself to be off duty in the presence of others.
- Don’t worry about the past. Enjoy the remains of your days.