How to Talk About Your Kids, 1558

“You got a problem with my Momo?”
Paolo Veronese, Giuseppe da Porto with his Son Adriano (1551-2)

Those who are constantly talking about their children, their wives or their nursemaids, are equally at fault. ‘Yesterday my boy made me laugh so much. Listen to this…You have never seen a more lovable son than my Momo…’ No-one has so little to do that he has the time to answer or even to listen to such nonsense and so it irritates everyone.

Giovanni della Casa, Galateo (trans. M. F. Rusnak)

History teaches us many timeless and important lessons. Chief among them: no one wants to hear about Momo.