The number of guests at dinner should not be less than the number of the Graces nor exceed that of the Muses, i.e., it should begin with three and stop at nine.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
My table seats eight, so that's my maximum. Having a small number of guests is the only way to generate good conversation. Besides, your whole house doesn't get wrecked that way.
I always like to think I'm having a dinner party, and I'm the host, and the audience are my guests.
Any celebration meal to which guests are invited, be they family or friends, should be an occasion for generous hospitality.
With four-appetizer, four-entree menus, it's like, give me a break. That's not a restaurant, that's a dinner party.
The muse holds no appointments. You can never call on it. I don't understand people who get up at 9 o'clock in the morning, put on the coffee and sit down to write.
A dinner invitation, once accepted, is a sacred obligation. If you die before the dinner takes place, your executor must attend.
You've got to listen to your guests.
Somewhere in the back of their minds, hosts and guests alike know that the dinner party is a source of untold irritation, and that even the dullest evening spent watching television is preferable.
Make your free men and guests sit as far as possible at tables on either side, not four here and three there.
If I'm in a room with 100 people, will I be able to find one person I'd like to have dinner with? Probably not.