Gentleman Chivalry Quotes

A gentleman is someone who does not what he wants to do, but what he should do.

A gentleman is simply a patient wolf.

Chivalry: It's the little boy that kisses my hand, the young man who holds the door open for me, and the old man who tips his hat to me. None of it is a reflection of me, but a reflection of them.

She was so delicate that, while we sat beneath the linden branches, a leaf would fall and drift down and touch her skin, and it would leave a bruise. So as we sat in the afternoon hour, beneath that fragrant linden bower, I had to chase all of the leafs that fell away.

Gentlemen always walk ladies home.

Gentleman: An imaginary creature found in Jane Austen novels.

What a loss it would be if feminism killed chivalry.

Taking good care of your husband or wife is the best way to thank their parent or parents for having taken good care of them.

A gentleman doesn't have to flex to know that he is strong.

He did not see a hero of romance, but a plain man who had done his best-- not a leader of chivalry, but the pupil who had tried to be faithful to his curious master, the magician, by thinking all the time-- not Arthur of England, but a lonely old gentleman who had worn his crown for half a lifetime in the teeth of fate.

Perfection is not given to any man. But an aspiration to perfection—to the highest possible standards in every aspect of life—is possible.

A compleat gentleman is a man who tries to do what is right and honorable in any given situation. He seeks harmony with the laws of God, or nature, and of man.

The compleat gentleman is not a perfect man.

To be properly educated, one must reject contemporary pedagogical enthusiasms.

A man is not made chivalrous by an extensive education. A college degree and advanced academic achievement are as often impediments to chivalry as they are inducements to it.

A gentleman is contemplative in that he never ceases to refine his sense of reality.

There is a worldwide longing for civility.

Chivalry is first and foremost the worldview of fighting men.

A gentleman always appeared to believe a lady even when he knew she was lying. That was Southern chivalry. A gentleman always obeyed the rules and said the correct things and made life easier for a lady.

And so, let it be said that this aforementioned gentleman spent his times of leisure --which meant most of the year-- reading books of chivalry with so much devotion and enthusiasm that he forgot almost completely about the hunt and even about the administration of his estate; and in his rash curiosity and folly he went so far as to sell acres of arable land in order to buy books of chivalry to read, and he brought as many of them as he could into his house...

The compleat gentleman has always been akin to the warrior, but it does not follow that he has always been a soldier. When duty calls, he will be a fighter, but his martial skill may be practiced with his wits rather than his fists.

A man worth his salt will treat a lady like a lady and make the effort to be a gentleman. While independent women are fully capable of being self-reliant, the majority whom I know appreciate being treated with respect, consideration, and chivalry. For the women who yearn for the old-fashioned, good-hearted, chivalrous guy, I promise, they do exist.

Apollo, outraged at the treatment of his friend Hektor, practically describes Achilleus as a brute and a barbarian. He is not. He is a man of culture and intelligence; he knows how to respect heralds, how to entertain estranged friends. He presides over the games with extraordinary courtesy and tact. He is not only a great fighter but a great gentleman, and if he lacks the chivalry of Roland, Lancelot, or Beowulf, that is because theirs is a chivalry coloured with Christian humility which has no certain place in the gallery of Homeric virtues. Above all, Achilleus is a real man, mortal and fallible, but noble enough to make his own tragedy a great one.

As she lifted her own backpack over the side of the black, heavy-duty dodge pickup, Owen took it out of her hands and set it beside the one-man tent and sleeping bag the FBI had provided for him. “I could have done that,” she said. “Sure you could. But my daddy taught me a gentleman always helps a lady.” Bay was so startled at what he’d said, and the chagrined way he’s said it, that she laughed. “Oh, my god. Chauvinism is alive and well—” “We call it chivalry, or Southern courtesy, ma’am,” he said. She realized he was heading around the truck to open the door for her. She stepped in front of him and said, “It’s going to be a long trip if you refuse to let me pull my weight. I can get my own door, Mr. Blackthorne.” For a minute, she thought he was going to make an issue of it. Then he touched the brim of his hat, shot her a rakish grin that turned her insides to mush, and said, “Whatever you say, Mizz Creed.” She was so flustered, she took a half step backward, slid into the seat when he opened the door for her after all, and said, “My friends call me Bay.” Bay flushed as she realized what she’d said. As he came around the hood and got in, she said, “That is—I mean—you know what I mean!” He belted himself into the driver’s seat and started the engine, before he turned to her and said, “My friends call me Owe. You can call me Owen.” She stared at him disbelief. “Oh. You. Blackthorne, you.

Though he was her enemy, he treated her with unfailing courtesy.

Men who dance with the least popular girls do so for one of two reasons. The first being that they are compassionate enough to realize that every young girl longs to dance, even if she is trying her utmost to appear disinterested. Those are the very best and sadly, rarest, of gentlemen. The second reason gentlemen dance with wallflowers is because their mothers have pressured them into that particular act of chivalry, and there is much to be said for a young gentleman who will dance with a wallflower just to please his mama.

Male chivalry, especially when coming from a devastatingly handsome man, gives girls all sorts of warm-fuzzy feelings… at least it did for me. Being a gentleman could make a not-so-handsome man more appealing,

Iris released a sigh. 'Honestly, Ruby. we've been over this a hundred times in the past day. Bram and Miss Plum will not be getting married. Your brother was simply being chivalrous, something he tends to do on a far too frequent basis.' 'You say that as if chivalry is not a welcome trait for a gentleman to have,' Ruby said slowly 'Why, having been involved with a gentleman who turned out to have not a single chivalrous bone in his body, I can well attest to the allure that an old-fashioned gentleman with old-fashioned values has to a woman in these trying times.' 'Hear, hear.

Win said, “Did you do her?” “Yes. Many times. But not in the last seven years.” “Good one. Pray tell, did she stop by to shag for old times’ sake?” “ ‘Shag?’ ” “My Anglo ancestory. Well?” “A gentleman never kisses and tells. But yes.” “And you refused?” “I remain chaste.” “Your chivalry,” Win said. “Some would call it admirable.” “But not you.” “No, I’d call it—and I’m breaking out the big words here so pay attention—really, really moronic.

I am a very lucky lady that my life partner, Daniel, is a true-blue Southern gentleman. Watching him in action not only earns my love and respect, but it also strengthens his countenance and bolsters his reputation as a man. As a health care provider, he treats numerous patients who are elderly or in pain. Daniel has made it a customary ritual while people are in his care to help them with their coats, provide a stabilizing arm, carry the ladies’ purses, and even walk patients out to their cars. While this kindness provides extraordinary customer service, it also demonstrates that small acts of chivalry can make a significant impact on one’s reputation, first impression, and overall human-beingness.

the angelic ideal of chivalry was democratized as the bourgeois sought to raise their children according to gentlemanly rules of honor, too.

Grayson was an old soul. He loved writing books as much as reading them. He was a gentleman and proved that chivalry isn't dead.

Sophie’s expression must have asked her question, because Mirabelle nodded and continued. “Men who dance with the least popular girls do so for one of two reasons. The first being that they are compassionate enough to realize that every young girl longs to dance, even if she is trying her utmost to appear disinterested. Those are the very best and sadly, rarest, of gentlemen. The second reason gentlemen dance with wallflowers is because their mothers have pressured them into that particular act of chivalry, and there is much to be said for a young gentleman who will dance with a wallflower just to please his mama.

Hornblower looked out over the lush green of the park; beyond it rose the massive curves of the Down, and to one side the tower of Smallbridge church rose above the trees. On that side, too, an orchard was in full bloom, exquisitely lovely. Park and orchard and church were all his; he was the squire, a landed gentleman, owner of many acres, being welcomed by his tenantry. Behind him was his house, full of his servants; on his breast the ribbon and star of an order of chivalry; and in London Coutts & Company had in their vaults a store of golden guineas which were his as well. This was the climax of a man's ambition. Fame, wealth, security, love, a child- he had all that the heart could desire. Hornblower, standing at the head of the steps while the parson droned on, was puzzled to find that he was still not happy. He was irritated with himself in consequence. He out to be running over with pride and joy and happiness, and yet here he was contemplating the future with faint dismay p11

Oh, thank you, young man!” one of the women said. Her glasses made her eyes look gigantic. “Chivalry still exists in this day and age. See, Flo? What a gentleman.

Vassal and lord alike belonged to the noble class and passed their lives in the same round of warlike occupations and amusements. To their life is given the name “chivalry,” derived from the Romance word for “horse” and denoting the life of cavaliers or knights. The earliest literature of feudal times extols physical hardihood and bravery, condones brigandage, and shows war brutally waged as almost the only ideal of the early chevalier. Later history indicates that it too often continued to be his practice. But this military aristocrat in time developed, or rather had constructed for him by the Church and the poetical romancers, a set of social ideals of which our present- day use of the term “chivalry” is a reminiscence. The medieval clergy insisted that the true knight should be a manly Christian, should respect and defend the Church, should fight against heathen and heretics, and should protect the needy and those in distress. The minstrels and romancers, who sometimes found the lords away and only the ladies at home when they visited the castles, depicted the true knight as an accomplished gentleman and perfect lover.

Coming close to death is a humbling experience.

Men and women don’t have to be exactly equal, but a gentleman does have to allow a woman to be what she wants to be.

Peace is justice in foreign relations; equality is justice in society; passion is justice in marriage; wisdom is justice in education; restraint is justice in behavior.

chivalry demands that a man respect a woman’s wishes. Needless to say, this does not mean that a compleat gentleman is his lady’s lackey.

A gentleman takes a woman on her own terms, and in doing so he puts the lie to ideological drivel about oppression.

We value education, but we do not understand its history.

Education is the empowerment of the mind to continuously seek the true and the beautiful, regardless of ideological distractions.

The compleat gentleman’s rectitude does not prohibit him from having a sense of humor. His Stoic sense of life and his urbane education ought to give him wit.

It is remarkable that chivalry, no matter how actual or merely aspirational it was in its own day, appeared when it did—that it appeared at all!

Chivalry combined military, religious, and social concepts into a unified way of life.

It was not enough for knights simply to love and fight well; they needed to sacrifice everything for the highest ideals, such as a Grail quest.

There have always been two senses of the word gentleman: the fine man of high birth and the fine man of good character.

From its earliest days, America has been an incubator of moral ambition.

I acknowledge the efficacy of a kind of peacemaking, especially in the hothouse climate of so many American schools. However, strength and honor more dependably keep the peace than does palaver about psychic posture and moral equivalence.

I do not believe our gentleman Boy Scout should obsess about combat. I do think he ought to be concerned about combat readiness. A man, however hard he works for peace, must always be ready for war.

Life is a martial art.

A compleat gentleman seeks a harmonious union of body and soul, and if his will—his soul—is strong then his body ought to be strong as well.

Hollywood, especially, has tended to portray the warrior as a dysfunctional individual.

I often hear it said that violence is not inevitable, and, therefore, that a warrior attitude and training are unnecessary. I once thought so too, but I grew up, and now the pacifists and I are simply moral strangers.

Chivalry is first and foremost the worldview of fighting men, and I am convinced that the decline of the gentlemanly ideal has occurred at least in part because men really are flabby—physically and spiritually.

Words have meaning, and we should respect them.

The cherished assumption in teaching has always been that truth is what matters, and until the last decade no one would have thought the truth should be denied because some consider it offensive or ‘triggering.

When the next war comes—and it will (so history teaches us)—the burden of combat will not be carried by either strong women or weak men, although the sacrifice of the former will be warmly embraced by the best men.

The egalitarianism that is the most offensive is the notion, whether embodied in opinion or law, that every way of behaving is as good as any other and that the man who stands apart by reason of his dignity, restraint, and discernment is somehow an Enemy of the People

Some overly enthusiastic feminists have suggested a fundamental bias in the word—and in the process it represents—and have enjoyed proclaiming their account of women in the past as herstory. But “history” comes from Middle English histoire, which is exactly the modern French word for both “history” and “story,” and before that from Latin and Greek—all languages in which “his” is not the masculine personal pronoun. But wordplay among contemporary academic theorists works whether or not it’s true, and this is simply a lie.

I do confess that I bring to the study of history the prejudices born of my experiences and imagination—who doesn’t—but I will not admit that this disqualifies me from seeing some bit of the truth about the past, even if only a bit.

I do not feel superior to nineteenth-century gentlemen or twelfth-century knights

a gentleman today—however we may characterize him—may find his environment less congenial to his temperament.

I propose three models—archetypes if you like—that comprise the dimensions of a chivalrous gentleman’s character: the warrior, the lover, and the monk.

A gentleman, I hope it will become clear, is not simply a man who stands apart. He is a man who stands up for others—sometimes even for his enemies—often when those others have no clue that he is there for them.

Societal civility is the extension and expansion of individual gallantry: it’s all about—or ought to be about—balance and restraint

Chivalry was more an ambition than an accomplishment, but—and this is the important thing—it was the common ambition of increasing numbers of men, and it had the effect of elevating and concretizing their civil righteousness. Religion also did this.

Still, taking the good with the bad, chivalry, like Christianity, had a healthy effect upon Western man.

What’s more, Fatima was fluent in the floral codes that had governed polite society since the Age of Chivalry. Not only did she know the flower that should be sent as an apology, she knew which flower to send when one has been late; when one has spoken out of turn; and when, having taking notice of the young lady at the door, one has carelessly overtrumped one’s partner. In short, Fatima knew a flower’s fragrance, color, and purpose better than a bee.