In this connection, the word “gentle” means “noble”, as it does in the phrase “of gentle birth”.. So, originally, a gentleman was one who, by birth and training, belonged to the upper cl
Trang 1What is a gentleman?
A gentleman is a gentle man In this connection, the word
“gentle” means “noble”, as it does in the phrase “of gentle
birth” So, originally, a gentleman was one who, by birth
and training, belonged to the upper classes He was of
noble blood Then, because the social manners of the
upper classes were refined, as compared with those of the
lower classes, anyone who knew how to behave in polite
society came to be called a gentleman So
Trang 2gentlemanliness came to refer to outward behavior A man
who behaved like a gentleman was a gentle man
In his description of a gentleman, Cardinal Newman goes
much deeper than this His definition of a gentleman is,
“One who never inflicts pain” “This description”, he says,
“is both refined and, so far as it goes, accurate” “The true
gentleman”, he goes on, “carefully avoids whatever may
cause a jar or a jolt to the others – all class of opinions, or
collision of feelings, restraints, or suspicion, or gloom, or
resentment; his great concern is to make everyone at
Trang 3ease and at home He has eyes on all his company; he is
tender towards the bashful, gentle towards the distant, and
merciful towards the absurd… He makes light of favor
while he does them, and seems to be receiving when he is
conferring He is patient, forbearing and resigned”
Good manners, the manners of a gentleman, may be
superficial, and sometimes they may be a little insincere;
but they are as necessary to the continuance of society as
oil to the smooth working of a machine And with people
who have naturally kindly hearts, politeness is neither
Trang 4insincere nor artificial For the essence of good manners is
consideration for the feelings of others, surely this is a
virtue Someone has called good manners “surface
morals”, because the essence of true morals is
unselfishness