About dealing with people

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Title page of the 1st edition

The best-known work by the German writer Adolph Freiherr Knigge (1752–1796) is about dealing with people . It was first published in 1788. The book deals with "good manners ", which here is not to be equated with etiquette . It has been translated many times.

Edition history

In 1788 Knigge's collection of rules of conduct appeared: On dealing with people , often referred to as “Knigge” for short, in the first edition. A second edition appeared in the same year. The third, fourth and fifth editions appeared in 1790, 1792 and 1796, respectively.

German special postage stamp from 2002 with the title page of the book in the background

The book On Dealing with People was already a success in Knigge's lifetime. After his death, his book was repeatedly rewritten by editors and published in a new form. In the course of time it became more and more a "primer on decency", an introduction to rules of decency; the "modern etiquette" was born. Today the name "Knigge" in Germany stands for etiquette, and the expression "Knigge" usually means something like "good manners" or "good behavior", which many understood as adopting courtly behavior. But this usage is largely based on a mistake.

In 2017, an original etiquette in modern German was published in Zurich .

content

Contrary to today's popular belief, the book is by no means a code of conduct with advice on questions such as which fork with which knife can be used with which food. Rather, the book is an insightful collection of "rules of conduct" shaped by the ideals of the Enlightenment . In the foreword Knigge defines "rules of conduct" as follows:

“If the rules of conduct are not to be mere rules of conventional courtesy or even dangerous politics, they must be based on the doctrine of the duties owed to all kinds of people and, in turn, demanded of them. - That means: A system whose cornerstones are morality and sophistication must be at the bottom. "

Etiquette , in which the manners are only presented for the sake of official formality, was not Knigge's field of activity.

With his book, Knigge wants to support people who act in this spirit in their work, which he describes as follows in the introduction to the first part:

"[W] hen I say that often even the wisest and cleverest people in the world, in their dealings with and in attaining external respect, fail to achieve their purpose for civil and other advantages, do not make their luck, [...] my remark applies to people who verily all good will and faithful righteousness with manifold, very excellent qualities and the zealous endeavor to get on in the world, to build happiness for oneself and others, and which are nevertheless misunderstood, overlooked, get nothing at all. [...] What is it that these people lack and others have [...]? - [...] Art of dealing with people - [...] Those who have not been born with this happy disposition by nature, acquire a study of people, a certain suppleness, sociability, indulgence, tolerance, at the right time denial, Power over violent passions, vigilance for oneself, and cheerfulness of the mind always in the same mood; and he will make that art his own; but be careful not to confuse it with the shameful, lowly courtesy of the rejected slave, who allows himself to be abused by everyone, who surrenders himself to everyone; to win a meal, to pay homage to the villain, and to receive a waitress, to keep silent about the wrong, to stand up to cheat and to idolize stupidity! [...] I don't want to write a compliment book like that. "

With which he expresses himself less in the style of a modern career guide.

About dealing with people deals with sociological and social psychological questions at a time when sociology or social psychology did not even exist as scientific disciplines. In addition to general history and literary history, the book is also significant in the areas of social philosophy , pedagogy and journalism .

construction

About dealing with people consists of three parts, which in turn are divided into 26 chapters, each of which begins with a separate “introduction”. The three chapters of the first part can be viewed as an introduction, they are “General remarks and rules on dealing with people”, “About dealing with yourself” and “With people of different kinds of mind, temperaments and moods of mind Heart ". The twelve chapters of the second part broaden the horizon to include “dealing with clergy”, “parents, children and blood relatives”, “spouses”, “lovers”, “landlords, neighbors”. The work closes with comments “about the way to deal with animals” and “about the relationship between writer and reader”.

Index procedure around 1820

The Italian translation was reported to the Vatican Index Congregation around 1820, because Knigge was considered a dangerous enlightenment. There was a threat of entry in the index of forbidden books . In the preliminary proceedings that were initiated, two consultants each prepared an opinion. One of the consultants spoke out against a ban, the other in favor. The responsible secretary of the index decided on the basis of the expert opinion against an "actual censorship procedure". Indexing the Italian Knigge edition would have indexed all translations, including the German original.

German editions

  • About dealing with people [first edition].
  • About dealing with people. Reprint of the third edition [1790]. Frankfurt am Main and Leipzig 2001.
  • About dealing with people. Reprint of the fourth edition [1792]. Dresden 1967.
  • About dealing with people. Reprint of the fifth edition [1796] ( RUB ). Reclam, Stuttgart 2002.

Literature (selection)

Bibliographies

  • Ernst August Knigge (Ed.): Knigges works: a bibliography of printed writings, compositions and letters. Wallstein Verlag, Göttingen 1996, ISBN 3-89244-229-0 .

Brief orientations

Studies

  • Thomas Pittrof: Knigges education about dealing with people. Munich 1989. ISBN 3-7705-2522-1 .
  • Ruth Klüger: Knigges “Dealing with People”: a lecture. Göttingen 1996. ISBN 3-89244-226-6 .
  • Ingo Hermann: etiquette. The biography. Berlin 2007, ISBN 3-549-07260-0 .
  • Gert Ueding: Social eloquence in Knigges “About dealing with people”. In: Rhetorik 31, Heft 1 (2012), pp. 87–98.
  • Hans-Christian Riechers: “Vis-à-vis de soi-même”. Knigges “About dealing with people”. In: Das Eighteenth Century 37. Issue 1 (2013), pp. 74–83.

Web links

Commons : About dealing with people  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files
Wikiquote: Adolph Freiherr Knigge  - Quotes

References and comments

  1. ↑ This edition is based on the Reclam edition (in the Universal Library).
  2. ↑ See e.g. B. Herbert Schwinghammer: Knaur's New Knigge. Knaur, Augsburg 2001.
  3. ^ Ingo Hermann: Knigge. The biography. Berlin 2007, p. 16.
  4. ↑ Ed. Felix Goda ( Ps. ), Persephone-Verlag, Zurich 2017. ISBN 978-3-9524729-2-7 .
  5. ^ Adolph Freiherr von Knigge: On dealing with people , reprint of the fifth edition, Stuttgart 2002, p. 444.
  6. ↑ See also Ingo Hermann: Knigge. Die Biografie , Berlin 2007, p. 16: “[Knigge] was not about copying courtly manners. Because manners are not the subject of his writing. The object of dealing with people is decency [ie decent, righteous and fair behavior here]. "
  7. ^ Adolph Freiherr von Knigge: About dealing with people. Reprint of the fifth edition, Stuttgart 2002, p. 14.
  8. ↑ Cf. Tina Groll : Career Advisor: Instructions for Submission . In: Zeit Online from January 14, 2011; Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  9. ↑ Cf. Ingo Hermann: Knigge. The biography . Berlin 2007, p. 300 ff.
  10. ^ Adolph Baron von Knigge; Renato Arrigoni (translator): Della condotta da tenersi nella societa. Opera del Sig. Adolfo Knigge. Traduzione libera dal Tedesco di RA corredata di Note d'un Italiano. Vol. 1. – 2. Milano 1816.
  11. ↑ See Hubert Wolf: Index. The Vatican and the Forbidden Books. Munich 2007.