It turns out that many years ago The Baltimore Sun conducted a competition for the best definition of a true gentleman. John Walter Wayland's submission was the winner. Thus it was printed in the Baltimore newspaper and was repeated in many publications thereafter. Pledges memorize it and are asked to recite it. Awards are given to brothers who are thought best to exemplify it.
Every organization is strengthened by tangible forms of a ritual.
Commercial enterprises have slogans, and countless private organizations of individuals, who have chosen to belong for any variety of reasons, have statements of philosophy that define and express their beliefs. And since it is something every member and pledge of Sigma Alpha Epsilon have in common, it helps bond us, providing part of the glue that holds us together. After all, gentlemanliness is the starting point and the indispensable quality of lasting friendships. Of course, opinion as to the nature of man is by no means unanimous and never has been. Some see man as a human animal, little above the beasts in the field.