Gentleman Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old gentleman quotes, gentleman sayings, and gentleman proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.

We sometimes meet an original gentleman, who, if manners had not existed, would have invented them. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Being male is a matter of birth. Being a man is a matter of age. But being a gentleman is a matter of choice. Srinivas Shenoy
He comes to the world, as a gentleman comes To a lodging ready furnished. Thomas Hood
No gentleman can be without three copies of a book: one for show, one for use, and one for borrowers. Richard Heber
We must be gentle now we are gentlemen. Shakespeare
A gentleman is simply a patient wolf. Lana Turner
He whom we call a gentleman is no longer the man of Nature. Denis Diderot
A gentleman can see a question from all sides without bias.The small man is biased and can see a question only from one side. Confucius
The look of a gentleman is little else than the reflection of the looks of the world. Hazlitt
A gentleman with a pug nose is a contradiction in terms. Edgar Allan Poe
Questioning is not the mode of conversation among gentlemen. Samuel Johnson
We have only one rule here - to act like a gentleman at all times. Robert E. Lee
If the gentleman has ability, he is magnanimous, generous, tolerant, and straightforward, through which he opens the way to instruct others. Xunzi
It is almost a definition of a gentleman to say that he is one who never inflicts pain. John Henry Newman
Perfect soldier, perfect gentleman never gave offence to anyone not even the enemy. A. J. P. Taylor
You will be judged by what you succeed at gentlemen, not by what you attempt Clement Attlee
It is difficult to believe that a true gentleman will ever become a gamester, a libertine, or a sot. Chapin
A true gentleman is one that apologizes anyways, even though he has not offended a lady intentionally. He is in a class all of his own because he knows the value of a woman's heart. Shannon L. Alder
The minute you try to talk business with him he takes the attitude that he is a gentleman and a scholar, and the moment you try to approach him on the level of his moral integrity he starts to talk business. Raymond Chandler
Anyone can be heroic from time to time, but a gentleman is something you have to be all the time. Luigi Pirandello
A gentleman respects every women in his life. If you can't respect your own mother, forget about respecting your girlfriend. James Merrow
A gentleman can live through anything. Oscar Wilde
A Gentleman is a prime example of what a man should be. Pontius Joseph
A gentleman has his eyes on all those present; he is tender toward the bashful, gentle toward the distant, and merciful toward the absent. Lawrence G. Lovasik
A gentleman is one who doesn't and cant forgive himself for self-committed mistake even if others forget it and the self-criticism is a mark of his right attitude towards life. Anuj Somany
Believe me, there exists no such dilemma as that in which a gentleman is placed when he is forced to reply to a blackguard. Edgar Allan Poe
A gentleman is one who never hurts anyone's feelings unintentionally. Oscar Wilde
A gentleman's choice of timepiece says as much about him as does his Saville Row suit. Ian Fleming
A gentleman is one who never hurts anyone's feelings unintentionally Oscar Wilde
Make money and the whole nation will conspire to call you a gentleman. George Bernard Shaw
A gentleman is one who puts more into the world than he takes out. George Bernard Shaw
The only infallible rule we know is, that the man who is always talking about being a gentleman never is one. Robert Smith Surtees
Being a Gentleman, has more to do with hiding his flaws, than exhibiting the virtues! Ramana Pemmaraju
The true gentleman is subtly poised between an inner tact and an outer defense. Puzant Kevork Thomajan
Gentlemen have talked a great deal of patriotism. A venerable word, when duly practiced. Robert Walpole
Gentlemen don't read each other's mail. Henry L. Stimson
The word of a gentleman is as good as his bond; and sometimes better. Charles Dickens
Courtesy is as much a mark of a gentleman as courage. Theodore Roosevelt
Gentleman is a term which does not apply to any station, but to the mind and the feelings in every station. Talfourd
You have to be a man before you can be a gentleman. John Wayne
A gentleman is one who understands and shows every mark of deference to the claims of self-love in others, and exacts it in return from them. William Hazlitt
It is almost the definition of a gentleman to say that he is one who never inflicts pain. John Henry Newman
The final test of a gentleman is his respect for those who can be of no possible service to him. William Lyon Phelps
A real gentleman is as polite to a little girl as to a woman. Louisa May Alcott
A gentleman is someone who can play the accordion, but doesn't. Tom Waits
A gentleman is any man who wouldn't hit a woman with his hat on. Fred Allen
A gentleman will not insult me, and no man not a gentleman can insult me. Frederick Douglass
Most gentlemen don't like love, they just like to kick it around. Cole Porter
The definition of a gentleman is a man who enters a revolving door in front of you and exits behind you. Chloe Thurlow
A man who needs women to prove his worth is a man who'll never be worthy. A Gentleman finds his worth in himself and his pride in a women. Moyo Adekoya
A gentleman is someone who does not what he wants to do, but what he should do. Haruki Murakami
A gentleman doesn’t have one set of manners for the house of a poor man and another for the house of someone with an income incomparable to his own. William Maxwell
I can make a lord, but only God can make a gentleman. King James I
With a gentleman I am always a gentleman and a half, and with a fraud I try to be a fraud and a half. Otto von Bismarck
Be well dressed, behave like a gentleman, and keep your shoes shined. Joseph Abboud
Man is never so manly as when he feels deeply, acts boldly and expresses himself with frankness and with fervor. Benjamin Disraeli
You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry. Abraham Lincoln
Masculinity is not something given to you, but something you gain. And you gain it by winning small battles with honor. Norman Mailer
Whether the gentleman is capable or not, he is loved all the same; conversely the petty man is loathed all the same. Xun Kuang
For me, the best thing you can do as a man in loving someone is to do your best, go on that walk, and at the end of that walk be as much of a gentleman as you were in the beginning. Bryan Adams
If it be true, as a celebrated writer has maintained, that no young lady can be justified in falling in love before the gentleman's love is declared, it must be very improper that a young lady should dream of a gentleman before the gentleman is first known to have dreamt of her. Jane Austen
The flowering of civilization is the finished man—the man of sense, of grace, of accomplishment, of social power—the gentleman. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Education begins the gentleman, but reading, good company, and reflection must finish him. John Locke
Thoughtfulness for others, generosity, modesty, and self-respect are the qualities which make a real gentleman or lady, as distinguished from the veneered article which commonly goes by that name. Aldous Huxley
Repose and cheerfulness are the badge of the gentleman—repose in energy. Ralph Waldo Emerson
It is a grand old name, that of gentleman, and has been recognized as a rank and power in all stages of society. To possess this character is a dignity of itself, commanding the instinctive homage of every generous mind, and those who will not bow to titular rank will yet do homage to the gentleman. His qualities depend not upon fashion or manners, but upon moral worth; not on personal possessions, but on personal qualities. Samuel Smiles
We are indebted to Christianity for gentleness, especially toward women. C. Simmons
I am a gentleman, you are a gentleman; who is going to mind the swine? Czech Proverb
Father a grocer; son a gentleman; grandson a beggar. Peruvian Proverb
However much the right honorable gentleman may dance around the ring beforehand, at some point, he will come within the reach of a big clunking fist. Tony Blair
Tea, although an Oriental, / Is a gentleman at least; / Cocoa is a cad and coward, / Cocoa is a vulgar beast. G. K. Chesterton
Any officer who shall behave in a scandalous manner, unbecoming the character of an officer and a gentleman shall.. be cashiered. Articles of War (1872) 'Disgraceful Conduct' Article 79
Arrive as a king, leave as a legend, be remembered as a gentleman. Ankeet Patel
The dog is a gentleman. I hope to go to his heaven, not man's . Mark Twain
Absolutely a poor person can be a gentleman. A gentleman... a gentleman is someone who never forgets their manners, no matter what the situation is, no matter how terrible, how awful. Money and social standing have got nothing to do with it. A gentleman always tries to do the right thing. Mr. Watts
Does a gentleman's gentleman stay when the gentleman wants the gentleman's gentleman to leave the gentleman with the lady? Stanley Snodgrass
I thought a "gentleman" was somebody that owned horses. But it turns out, his short and simple definition of a lady or a gentleman is, someone who always tries to make sure the people around him or her are as comfortable as possible. Troy
Being a gentleman has nothing to do with the circumstances of one's birth. Being a gentleman is something one learns. Harry Hart
I'm a stone cold gentleman / I do all that I can / Give my heart, my charm, my personality / I'm a gentleman / And I'm not trying to win you over / Just give me your hand and I'll do what I can. Kevin Roberson; Antonio Reid; Ralph Tresvant; Daryl Simmons
Scarecrow, weathered and weary / Fragile and old beyond his years / Here we are chosen / In your eyes, the truth lies frozen / Soldier in the city heat / Refugee on every street / And life goes by / Standing in the pouring rain / He's a gentleman with a family / A gentle man, living day to day / He's a gentleman with pride, one may conclude / Sign reads, gentleman with a family will work for food. Cheryl Bentyne; Gerald O'Brien; Marc Wallace Jordan