Quotes: Gentleman

The idea in bold-face print is a summary of the quote. The number after the topic is the page on which the quote was found.

Gentleman
Gentleman 1235 Seeing a gentleman makes one want to look like a gentleman. " …and before the fire, in a deep arm-chair, sat Mr. Pringle, looking just fit to be seated in such a chair, and in such a room…always so nicely dressed, that even Eustace Bright never liked to enter his presence, without at least pausing at the threshold to settle his shirt collar." “Tanglewood Fireside. Introductory to ‘The Three golden Apples’” Hawthorne’s The Wonder Book for Boys and Girls

Gentleman 1104 Gentlemen have pumpkin heads like those of a scarecrow. "And many a fine gentleman has a pumpkin-head as well as my scarecrow." Hawthorne: “Feathertop: A Moralized Legend”

Gentleman 1115 A gentleman can be recognized as a gentleman regardless if he is wearing rags. "It is some great nobleman beyond question…if he came among us in rags, nobility would shine through a hole in his elbow…I never saw such dignity of aspect…he has the old Norman blood in his veins…but, in my judgment, this stranger hath been bred at the French Court, and hath there learned politeness and grace of manner, which none understand so well as the nobility of France…that gait, now; a vulgar spectator might deem it stiff—he might call it a hitch and jerk—but, to my eye, it hath unspeakable majesty, and must have been acquired by constant observation of the deportment of the Grand Monarque…he is a French ambassador, come to treat with our rulers about the cession of Canada." Hawthorne: “Feathertop: A Moralized Legend”

Gentleman 1116 A gentleman has perfect equanimity. "There needed no other proof of his rank and consequence, than the perfect equanimity with which he comported himself, while the curiosity and admiration of the town swelled almost into clamor around him." Hawthorne: “Feathertop: A Moralized Legend”

Gentleman 1120 A gentleman has well-ordered manners. "…the perfect witchery of well-ordered manners." Hawthorne: “Feathertop: A Moralized Legend”

Gentleman 1122 Many apparent "gentlemen" fail to see themselves for what they are. "My poor, dear, pretty Feathertop! There are thousands upon thousands of coxcombs and charlatans in the world, made up of just such a jumble of worn-out, forgotten, and good-for-nothing trash, as he was; yet, they live in fair repute, and never see themselves for what they are; and why should my poor puppet be the only one to know himself and perish for it." Feathertop: A Moralized Legend

Gentleman 119 Gentlemen live by robbing the poor. "Gentleman: I am a gentleman: I live by robbing the poor." George Bernard Shaw. Portable Curmudgeon.

Gentleman 43 A gentleman is a good shot and a bold rider. Willoughby’s character: "As good a kind of fellow as ever lived…a very decent shot, and there is not a bolder rider in England." Austen, Sense and Sensibility.

Gentleman 51 Portrait of a gentleman. Elinor on Col. Brandon: "I can only pronounce him to be a sensible man, well-bred, well-informed, of gentle address, and I believe possessing an amiable heart." Austen, Sense and Sensibility.

Gentleman 338 Portrait of a gentleman: manners, gentleness, attention to others and simplicity. "…the Colonel’s manners…their gentleness, their genuine attention to other people and their manly unstudied simplicity…." Austen, Sense and Sensibility.

Gentleman 236 To understand people, listen carefully to them when they talk about themselves. "His [Fanny’s brother William’s] recitals were amusing in themselves to Sir Thomas, but the chief object in seeking them, was to understand the recitor, to know the young man by his histories; and he listened to his clear, simple, spirited details with full satisfaction—seeing in them, the proof of good principle, professional knowledge, energy, courage, and cheerfulness—everything that must deserve or promise well." Austen, Mansfield Park.