Definition of a gentleman. I like this description. What do you all think?

"The True Gentleman is the man whose conduct proceeds from good will and an acute sense of propriety, and whose self-control is equal to all emergencies; who does not make the poor man conscious of his poverty, the obscure man of his obscurity, or any man of his inferiority or deformity; who is himself humbled if necessity compels him to humble another; who does not flatter wealth, cringe before power, or boast of his own possessions or achievements; who speaks with frankness but always with sincerity and sympathy; whose deed follows his word; who thinks of the rights and feelings of others, rather than his own; and who appears well in any company, a man with whom honor is sacred and virtue safe."

"”John Walter Wayland

Sounds like something everyone can aspire to! I heartily approve!

I'd heard a (perhaps abbreviated from above?) definition of a gentleman as 'someone who makes everone in his company feel at ease', which I always liked. My short definition doesn't allow for the underlying motive of good nature and empathy for ones fellow humans present in Mustapha's quoted definition though.

We had to memorize that as fraternity pledges.

Originally Posted by iammatt

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We had to memorize that as fraternity pledges.
Yeah, I thought it was an SAE thing. My best friend is in the SAE chapter at RPI, and he has some "True Gentleman" shirts and whatnot.

Originally Posted by Mustapha

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"The True Gentleman is the man whose conduct proceeds from good will and an acute sense of propriety, and whose self-control is equal to all emergencies; who does not make the poor man conscious of his poverty, the obscure man of his obscurity, or any man of his inferiority or deformity; who is himself humbled if necessity compels him to humble another; who does not flatter wealth, cringe before power, or boast of his own possessions or achievements; who speaks with frankness but always with sincerity and sympathy; whose deed follows his word; who thinks of the rights and feelings of others, rather than his own; and who appears well in any company, a man with whom honor is sacred and

virtue safe."

"”John Walter Wayland

Well ****. Everybody go home - no gents on SF!

Originally Posted by Connemara

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Yeah, I thought it was an SAE thing. My best friend is in the SAE chapter at RPI, and he has some "True Gentleman" shirts and whatnot.

Any club that forces one to memorize long phrases is no club I'd want to be part of.

I used to have disagreements with memorizing the Pledge of Allegiance.

how me person that actually lives by that paragraph and i could show you the Santa Klaus

Originally Posted by iammatt

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We had to memorize that as fraternity pledges.

Was it meant to be ironic?

And a gentleman is never unintentionally rude. "Always be courteous, always be a gentleman, always be ready to kill everyone in the room."

Funny, the definition I heard was:

'A gentleman is someone who knows how to play the accordion, and doesn't.'

Originally Posted by scarphe

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how me person that actually lives by that paragraph and i could show you the Santa Klaus

Here !