Ladies and Gentlemen

The society we live in today is not much fascinated by the notion of being a “lady or a gentleman”. According to Webster dictionary online, a gentleman is defined as a man of noble or gentle birth, or a man belonging to the landed gentry. To me, a gentleman is far more than that. A man can be of a noble birth but not a gentleman as a gentleman has certain qualities and characteristics that differentiate him for other men. The same is applicable to a woman being a lady; a lady is a woman who is virtuous, with a high level of proper and standard behavior.

All females can be considered or called women, but not all women can be considered or called ladies as some may lack the characteristics that propel others to see them and call them a lady. If a man is seen opening and holding a door for a lady to walk through, he is considered a gentleman.

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I remember my friend and I talking about her boyfriend, and she said he was a gentleman because he would hold the door open for her when they go out, and he is always the one carrying her handbag when they go out. To her, these features shown by her boyfriend makes him a gentleman.

A well-rounded person is a person that is fully developed, well balanced, and has varied abilities and attainment. There are various characteristics of a well-rounded person: A well-rounded person should be of a noble birth just like the definition of a gentleman.

The Courtier says “I wish them that this courtier of ours should be nobly born and of gentle race; . . . for noble birth is like a bright lamp that manifests and makes visible good and evil deeds. ( Sayre, The Perfect Courtier, para 4) A well-rounded person should have a likeable personality, and a true sense of self esteem.

The Courtier says “I would have the courtier favored in this regard also, and endowed by nature not only with talent and beauty of person and feature, but with a certain grace and (as we say) air that make him at first sight pleasing and agreeable to all who see him;” (Sayre, The Perfect Courtier, para 6) A well-rounded person should be honest, accommodating, open to influence, kind, have the ability to make a difference in someone’s life, have the ability to lead, well educated, able to influence others positively.

The Courtier says “I am of the opinion that the principal and true profession of the courtier ought to be that of arms: which I would have him follow actively above all else, and be known among others as bold and strong, loyal to whomsoever he serves, and he will win a reputation for these good qualities by exercising them at all times and in all places”. (Sayre, The Perfect Courtier, para 7) On February 25th, 2012, I conducted a survey on 10 people to determine what measures they used to qualify other people as being a lady or a gentleman.

I asked them what characteristics makes up a lady and a gentleman, and if they agreed that a lady or a gentleman must be of a noble birth. The survey was conducted by means of personal interview where I asked each individual series of questions. 100% of the participants agreed that it is good to be a “lady” or “gentleman”,7 out of the 10 people interviewed disagreed that” ladies and gentlemen” comes from just the people that are of noble birth and famous as the Courtier suggests.