What does it mean to call yourself a gentleman? How do you conduct yourself in public? How does a gentleman dress and carry oneself? It’s tough to just out and say it because being a gentleman encompasses so much more than the physical. It encompasses more than just what is seen. It’s a lifestyle and should be engrained in your psyche. In this day and age chivalry is a rare sight however a few years/decades/centuries ago it was the norm. A standard which was expected. Why then would we not listen to the words of men and women from these bygone eras and take them to heart?

1. GEORGE BERNARD SHAW – Irish Playwright

“A gentleman is one who puts more into the world than he takes out”

2. THEODORE ROOSEVELT – 26th U.S. President

“Courtesy is as much a mark of a gentleman as courage.”

3. CONFUCIUS – Chinese Philosopher & Politician

“A gentleman would be ashamed should his deeds not match his words”

4. WILLIAM LYON PHELPS – American Author & Scholar

“The final test of a gentleman is his respect for those who can be of no possible service to him”

5. SIMON BAKER – Actor

“People talk about random acts of kindness, and that goes back to the measure of being gentlemanly again. It’s about having consideration for others, and not expecting anything back. That’s the difference.”

6. ANTHONY TROLLOPE – English Novellist

“And though it is much to be a nobleman, it is more to be a gentleman.”

7. JOHN LOCKE – English Philosopher & Physician

“Education begins the gentleman, but reading, good company and reflection must finish him.”

8. EPICTETUS – Greek Philosopher

“If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid.”

9. TOM FORD – Fashion Designer & Style Icon

“You should put on the best version of yourself when you go out in the world because that is a show of respect to the other people around you.”

10. HARUKI MURAKAMI – Japanese Writer

“A gentleman is someone who does not what he wants to do, but what he should do.”

11. WILLIAM MAXWELL – American Editor & Novellist

“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.”

12. LOUISA MAY ALCOTT – American Novelist

“Gentlemen, be courteous to the old maids, no matter how poor and plain and prim, for the only chivalry worth having is that which is the readiest to to pay deference to the old, protect the feeble, and serve womankind, regardless of rank, age, or color.”

14. TOM FORD – Fashion Designer & Style Icon

“You have to be passionate, you have to be engaged and you have to be contributing to the world.”

You stay classy,

NR