removing something harmful from the road, and modesty is a branch of faith.” (1) Everything that conflicts with dignified conduct conflicts with modesty.

His statement: “One should turn his face away from the food when coughing or sneezing.” Coughing means a cough. One should keep his face away from the food, lest some saliva come out and fall into it; this is correct, and sneezing deserves this even more.

However, his statement, “turn his face away”—that is, turn it aside while sneezing—is mistaken, because they say that this poses a serious danger to the nerves. As is well known, a sneeze shakes the entire body, and if one turns while sneezing, the nerves of the neck may be affected. For this reason, doctors have disliked a person’s turning aside while sneezing. Rather, he should do as the author said: “Keep away from it, or place something over his mouth.” Part of proper etiquette when sneezing is for a person to cover his face: if possible, he should place his headcloth or something similar over his face.

His statement: “So that nothing comes out of him and falls into the food.” This has already been mentioned.

His statement: “It is disliked to dip the remainder of a morsel from which he has eaten into the broth”—such as when a person eats part of a piece of bread, then dips it into the broth. This is disliked, unless no one else is eating with him, in which case there is nothing wrong with it.

His statement: “It is recommended for the eater to sit on his left leg with his right leg raised, or to sit cross-legged.” Thus, he sits on his left leg and raises his right leg.