The exact quote is snot coming to mind

April 11, 2019 7:11 AM

I'm trying to remember a quote about blowing your nose and manners. I want to say it was by Ben Franklin from Poor Richard's Almanack, but I can't remember enough to pull it up. It was something like, "A gentleman does not, upon blowing his nose, open his handkerchief up afterward and inspect the contents as though diamonds and rubies might have spilled from his head." Is that Ben Franklin? If not, where is that from? Ringing any bells?
posted by DirtyOldTown to Society & Culture (3 answers total)

Best answer: According to this source, Giovanni Della Casa (1558):

And when you have blown your nose you should not open your handkerchief and look inside as if pearls or rubies might have descended from your brain.
posted by DarlingBri at 7:24 AM on April 11, 2019 [12 favorites]

Yep, Giovanni Della Casa - here's another source - from an Italian book on etiquette called Il Galateo. Google is showing a bunch of different translations of this line.
posted by showbiz_liz at 7:38 AM on April 11, 2019 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Boom. Perfect. Thank you!
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:50 AM on April 11, 2019