Whoever is open, loyal, true; of humane and affable demeanour; honourable himself, and in his judgement of others; faithful to his word as to law, and faithful alike to God and man....such a man is a true gentleman.
Interpretation
A true gentleman embodies integrity, loyalty, and kindness in all aspects of life.
Ralph Waldo Emerson defines a true gentleman as someone who possesses a genuine and affable nature, acts honorably, and is faithful to both his commitments and moral principles. This quote emphasizes the importance of character and integrity in defining an individual’s worth beyond social status or outward appearances.
In practice
A speaker at a personal development seminar might use this quote to inspire attendees to cultivate their character.
It is plain that there is no separate essence called courage, no cup or cell in the brain, no vessel in the heart containing drops or atoms that make or give this virtue; but it is the right or healthy state of every man, when he is free to do that which is constitutional to him to do.
Few people have any next, they live from hand to mouth without a plan, and are always at the end of their line.
Men cease to interest us when we find their limitations
Tis the good reader that makes the good book; a good head cannot read amiss: in every book he finds passages which seem confidences or asides hidden from all else and unmistakeably meant for his ear.
The world belongs to the energetic.
Hast thou named all the birds without a gun?
Poverty in itself does not make men into a rabble; a rabble is created only when there is joined to poverty a disposition of mind, an inner indignation against the rich, against society, against the government.
To all conservative women out there: If you are so sure the embryo needed for stem cell research are precious human life that can't be destroyed, then implant one in your uterus and bring it to term. That's right, put your cervix where your mouth is.
Every time we sit at a table at night or in the morning to enjoy the fruits and grain and vegetables from our good earth, remember that they come from the work of men and women and children who have been exploited for generations.
Perhaps my whisper was already born before my lips.
The infant, on opening his eyes, ought to see his country, and to the hour of his death never lose sight of it.
Man is a strange animal. He generally cannot read the handwriting on the wall until his back is up against it.
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