Quotes Meaning

"In my opinion butlers ought To know their place, and not to play The Old Retainer night and day."

- Joachim du Bellay

The Pleiade, a group of seven eminent French poets who sought to improve the standing of the French language in literature, included Joachim du Bellay, a poet from the French Renaissance. His writings frequently addressed issues of duty and social hierarchy.

According to Du Bellay's quotation, butlers in particular should respect their place in the household hierarchy and refrain from going beyond their assigned responsibilities. This advice is in line with a social norm that requires everyone to perform particular tasks according to their position. The duties of a butler include effectively handling domestic matters while upholding decorum and privacy.

Consider a well-oiled machine, where every component contributes to the system's overall operation while working conscientiously in its assigned location and without interfering or trying to do tasks that are beyond its capabilities. In a similar vein, du Bellay supports servants who strictly fulfill their duties in order to maintain harmony within a household and ensure smooth operations.

This point of view emphasizes how crucial discipline and order are to social structures and how people can degenerate into chaos when they disregard accepted norms and expectations.

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