from The Human Machine by Arnold Bennett: [I have a think for public domain books, what can I say?]
“One of the central secrets of efficient daily living is
to leave our daily companions alone a great deal more than we do, and attend to ourselves.
If a daily companion is conducting his life upon principles which you know to be false, and with results which you feel to be unpleasant, the safe rule is to keep your mouth shut.”
“Intimacy is no excuse for rough manners, though the majority of us seem to think it is.
You are not in charge of the universe; you are in charge of yourself…
You have no business trespassing beyond the confines of your own individuality. In so trespassing you are guilty of impertinence. This is obvious. And yet one of the chief activities of home-life consists in prancing about at random on other people’s private lawns. What I say applies even to the relation between parents and children.”
And ESPECIALLY to the relationship between wife and husband.
Ahem.
And now, I have nothing further to say on the matter.
Image: Leave Me Alone! by pheαnix