St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1879-04-25
Gentlemanhood as a Vocation.

G6nClGmdnnOOQ DIS d tOCdtlOn.
THAT We walk worthy of the vOca-
ton wherewith ye are called" is the
of an apostle. Practical Chris
tianity ought to make every man a
gentleman. But as it does not, and
since Il great many technical "Chrls-
tians" fall so far short of it, may not
be vocation by itself
May not one who never has been icon
verted" feel himself distinctly and
strongly called to be gentleman, and
walk worthy of that vocation "Of
course it will be answered, as if the
question were intended as joke. But
we put it seriously, and contend that
nothing is more needed just now in
American society, from top to bottom,
next to vital religion, than this same
thing-the sense of gentlemanhOOd as
IL vocation. We mean by it something
more than the merely aesthetic con-
science which presides over the exter-
nal prophecies and cOurtesies of life,
which evolves manners and etiquette,
the outward polish, suavity, air, and
bearing. We mean the finer grain of
character, which can take on the polish
so different from veneer; the delicate
sense of personal honor which recoils
from any mean thing with thrill of
disgust, and which at the same time
beams from the very centre of the heart
with goodwill. A radiant goodwill
combined with keen sense of honor,
are the twin elements of the gentleman !;
and when one feels called to express
. L.. and lnnl- an1 NUnr1
and action, gentlemanhood becomes to
him Il vocation.
There are thee things which every
man who walks worthy of this vocation
will not do. He will not swear, nor
lie, nor steal. The profane mouthing
of the names by which the Supreme is
known he will refrain from, out of a
fitting reverence if he believes in a
God, and, if he does not, out of Il fitting
respect for those who do. Every sensi-
ble man, upon Il moments reflection,
convicts himself of vulgarity when he
points his jests, or emphasizes his pas
sion, or interlards his trivialities, with
the words which are sacred, if any are.
Every time he does it, he lowers his
own moral tone towards tho lowest
depth in which there is nothing sacred.
ThOughtlessness is the fiimsiest of all
excuses for an oath, for the simple rea
son that it is swallowed in the presence
of woman or Il clergy which
only spoils the temporary gentleman
by merging him into hypocrite. If it
he gcntlemanly to swear at all, why
not be invariably outspOken2
Truthfulness also belongs to gentle
manhood, fIom the IOot upward aud
outward to the topmost twig and the
very veins of the leaf. 1t is illustrated
in the Evolutionary code, and we believe
in the general practice, of the educated
officers of our army and navy. The
regular training at such institutions as
West Point and Annapolis military and
naval academies, rules out lying, pre-
varication, and petty deception of all
kinds and under all circumstances.
Ponies, stolen examination papers,
whispered prOmptings, coat-sleeve an
swers to blackboard problems, the va
rious wiles and stratagems to cheat in
structors which demoralize college life,
and despoil the adolescent bOyhood of
our preparatory schools of that ingeuu-
BUSINESS which is the budding soul of
honor, are superseded, if we understand
the case, in the accepted makeup of a
gentleman in the naval or military
ranks, by keen sense of the honor OF
truth, and the indelible disgrace of
| lying to whOmsoever, and under what
soever form or circumstances. 1t is a
very significant and important ques-
| ton: What hinders the mutual relation
of high-minded and clear-eyed gen.
tlemanhOOd from being established be-
tween academy and college students
and their teachers? How pitifully
shameful the outcIoppings of character
and manners in these almost daily rows
and suspensions and eXpulsions, and
the unnatural and suspicious espionage
which so commonly puts the youthful
student and his teacher in utterly
wrong relations. Is it a thing impOssi-
BILE to bring them face TO face under the
combined lead and spontaneous i'm
pulses of delicate sense of honor and
IL mutual good-willq
AS to stealing, the nice sense of hon =
would detect and define and expose il
where it flourshes in thousand re-
spectacle forms, from our civil service
and corporation rings, down to false
labels and adulterated goods. Sup
posing all the tricks of trade were some
how Instantly and cleanly rooted out
where would trade be? 1t would bt
regenerated. And a keen sense O
honor under free trade and goodwill
would regenerate it. The trickster ant
speculatOr in trust funds would not be
apOlogized for as injudicions and un
fortunate in not making his stealing
pay, and every business failure would
be searched through and through fo
its honest or else dishonest causes
Springfield Republican.