From the gentleman’s definitive guide, it is already clear that:
Not every man is a gentleman these days. It is not a genetic trait, rather a lifestyle.
A gentleman is a gentleman every day, every night, forever.
His actions, not just clothes, make him a gentleman.
In the modern society, a lot of influential people said something about being one. From authors to actors, all have something to say about the traits of a gentleman.
Here are some of my favorites quotes.
1. Luigi Pirandello, Dramatist
“Anyone can be heroic from time to time, but a gentleman is something you have to be all the time.
2. William Keepers Maxwell Jr., Editor
“A gentleman doesn’t have one set of manners for the house of a poor man and another for the house of someone with an income incomparable to his own.”
4. George Bernard Shaw, Playwright
“A gentleman is one who puts more into the world than he takes out.”
6. William Lyon Phelps, Author
“The final test of a gentleman is his respect for those who can be of no possible service to him.”
7. Confucius, Philosopher & Teacher
“A gentleman would be ashamed should his deeds not match his words.”
8. Hugh Jackman, Actor
“I’ve never heard my dad say a bad word about anybody. He always keeps his emotions in check and is a true gentleman. I was taught that losing it was indulgent, a selfish act.”
9. Haruki Murakami, Writer
“A gentleman is someone who does not what he wants to do, but what he should do.”
10. Susanna Clarke, Author
““Can a magician kill a man by magic?” Lord Wellington asked Strange.
Strange frowned. He seemed to dislike the question. “I suppose a magician might,” he admitted, “but a gentleman never could.””
11. Fyodor Dostoevsky, Novelist
“A real gentleman, even if he loses everything he owns, must show no emotion. Money must be so far beneath a gentleman that it is hardly worth troubling about.”
12. Charlie Chaplin, Comic Actor
“All my pictures are built around the idea of getting in trouble and so giving me the chance to be desperately serious in my attempt to appear as a normal little gentleman.”
13. John Locke, Philosopher
“Education begins the gentleman, but reading, good company and reflection must finish him.”
14. Edwin Hubbell Chapin, Poet
“Profaneness is a brutal vice. He who indulges in it is no gentleman.”
15. Lawrence G. Lovasik, Missionary, SVD
“A gentleman has his eyes on all those present; he is tender toward the bashful, gentle toward the distant, and merciful toward the absent.”
17. Frederick Douglass, Orator, Writer, Statesman
“A gentleman will not insult me, and no man not a gentleman can insult me.”
18. Otto von Bismarck, Statesman
“With a gentleman I am always a gentleman and a half, and with a fraud I try to be a fraud and a half.”
19. William Congreve, Playwright
“‘Tis well enough for a servant to be bred at a University. But the education is a little too pedantic for a gentleman.”
20. Sharon Stone, Actress
“I like to be bought flowers and taken out for dinner. I like a man to be a gentleman. I don’t like to be treated as if I am brainless. I like to be respected and to give respect.”
21. James Otis Jr., Lawyer & American Politician
“The only principles of public conduct that are worthy of a gentleman or a man are to sacrifice estate, ease, health, and applause, and even life, to the sacred calls of his country.”
24. Xun Kuang, Confucius Philosopher
“Whether the gentleman is capable or not, he is loved all the same; conversely the petty man is loathed all the same.”
Grab your free copy of “How to Be a Gentleman: The Definitive Guide” by clicking the image below. This PDF is 100% recommended if you are looking for a collection of the best resources, so you can become a gentleman.
