" Generous, delicate persons never, when in the presence of a servant, use a comparison which might be injurious. For example: "Whatshisname behaves like a lackey." Great ladies in times gone by were scarcely so considerate, you might say, and I do know that there was indeed a duchess in the eighteenth century who was in the habit of sending her people to the Place de Grève at every execution, and she would say roughly, "Go to school!"
Nowadays we show greater care for human dignity and the righteous vulnerability of the small and humble; it is the honor of our era.
But nevertheless," he insisted, "the politeness of masters toward their servants must not degenerate into a base familiarity. For example, there is nothing quite so vulgar as listening to the gossip of one's servants. "

― Anna Gavalda , Hunting and Gathering