The art of speaking according to the Manual of Civility. Life in Society. The Art of Speaking - The Art of Writing The Art of Studying (19??)

Abstract

The lines you will read below come from the pen of Gabriel-Marie Bruño. But who is this writer? Perhaps you know him, if you have read any didactic text signed by G. M. Bruño. Many of his books were published throughout Catholic and Hispanic America. He addressed a range of topics, always seeking instruction. And who was G. M. Bruño? G. M. Bruño is the pseudonym used for his publications by Brother Miguel FebresCordero, known in Ecuador more familiarly as Brother Miguel, a religious born in Cuenta (Ecuador) in 1854 with the name of Francisco, and who was beatified as Brother Miguel and later canonized as Saint Miguel Febres Cordero. When he started teaching Language and Literature, he missed a textbook, so he developed one. Soon after, the Ecuadorian government adopted his work for all schools in the country. From then on and supported by his congregation, Brother Miguel continued to fill the academic void with texts in which he explained to the children not only about language, Spanish and literature, but also about arithmetic, geometry, algebra, chemistry, history of Spain and other subjects. Among these others is the Manual de urbanidad (Manual of Civility). As he acknowledges in his prologue, the ideas he develops therein are an updating and adaptation to lay life of those expounded by St. John Baptist de La Salle in 1716 in Rules of Christian Decorum and Civility. Certainly, it offers the good manners that in various orders should characterize the actions of the young people of 100 years ago. From this text, chapters and subchapters have been taken that focus on conversation, its qualities, discretion, modesty, lying, jokes, mockery, backbiting, etc.