Smyrna times., 1877-07-11
F." Gentlemen"


political discussions to produce an essay on
the subject of gentlemen" phrase in
more common use and less understood in
this country than in any other. In
England it has definite meaning, a "man
of family "man of good BIRTH" "man
of rank above that of yeoman." British
society is divided into nobility, gentry and
yeomanry, and families are either noble,
gentle or simple. The bearing of coat
armor has been made by late British
authorities the test of gentility. But
Chaucer, the Oldest English authority
known to us, puts it on better ground
Gle is gentil that doeth gentil dedes."
The usage of the word in this country is
undoubtedly very loose. There is, of
course, here no such technical significance
of the term as applied to it in Great Britain
and other foreign countries. The Times
says that every American citizen claims
to be gentleman, but when he does so it
is only another form of the phrase, 81 am
assertion of equality, which the instinct of
human nature never fails, openly or
latently, to claim; which was announced,
as to political matters, in the Declaration of
independence, and understood by many of
the people making it as having a social as
we'll as political significance, and which in
France asserted itself, both in political and
social matters, in the gullotine. 1t is of
course not true that one man, in a moral,
intellectual or political point of view, is
equal to another, although as a man he
stands on the same level in the estimation
: of his Creator who ought to know what all
| men are worth, as any other man, and
who, in the parable which exalts Lazarus
to Abraham's bosom and consigns Dives to
a place Of torment; has shown that the
, Maker of man attaches no value to earthly
distinctions. The almost universal desire
5 in America to be considered gentlemen no
doubt seems ridiculous, but if it is because
people who have no claim to the rank
and title known to the old world are
e willing to sink the natural dignity of man
below the artificial appendage of gentle
f man. The Times thinks that many Ameri-
' cans who talk very glibly of being gentle
Y men have very little idea of what gentle
1 man is. This may be so but at the same
@ time they know what they mean when
f they use that term. And the meaning is
G entirely different from that which is at
4 tached to it in Europe, which has followed
4 the original derivation of the word from
}. the Latin, gentHS, belonging to gems, or tribe
;. and homo, man. In the early days OF
C Rome to belong to a tribe or gems was to
:. take rank among the mobiles, and the term
n has been adopted in all European languages
# of which Latin forms the parent stock
{. Here, in a country settled mostly by plain
e adventurouspeople, no such distinction i:
d recognized, and when the term gentleman
er is applied to any man by the people il
le means what Chaucer defined it, man that
,r 'doeth gentle Deeds" The dictnction here
it is made without reference to social position
in or wealth, and applies to character and
10 department, so that when a man is spoker
" of as being gentleman it is meant that hC
,e is refined, humane, considerate of thu
nj feelings of others, honest in his intention
r. and dealings, observant of honor anC
Is justice, and seeking to make the worlC
" better and happier. Thomas Jefferson
~ who ought to have known what the tern
"a meant, said that the fifteenth Psalm o
Il. David which commends the man VIII,
#. 'walKeth uprightly, and wor1eth righteous
Il. ness and speaketh the truth in his heart
lv agho backbiteth not with his tongue, no
a doeth evel to his neighbor, nor taketh up
he reproach against his neighbor; VIII
As sweareth to his own hurt, and changetl
SO not, and honoreth them that fear the Lord,
us was the best description of gentleman
ed he had ever seen.
id In this sense it is desirable to be "een
on tleman," and without it no descent, circun
b. stances or associations can lay claim j
ty this country to that designation. Th
lie. title OF gentleman, therefore, is open her
ws to every man, as that of lady is to ever
ire woman whose character and conduct are i
of conformity with the ideas of virtue, refin
iy. ment and department attached in tn
oh country to those names.
WoMAN's AFFECTIONS Washington Irwin
wrote: As the dove will clap its wings
its sides and cover and conceal the AFRO
~ that is preying on its vitals, so it is I'll
: nature of woman to hide from the worl
=. the pangs Of wounded affection. With h
- the desire of the heart has failed. I'll
great charm of existence is at an Ell
49, She neglects all the cheerful exercises tn
IN gladden. the spirits, quicken the pulse al
- send the tide of life in healthful current