To Be A Gentleman, You Must First Be A Man

First, Be A Man

It’s a common saying, but it bears repeating for a wider audience.

Strength, fortitude, and courage are necessary precursors to being virtuous. You must first be strong enough to retain the other virtues during challenging times. Otherwise, the virtue demonstrated in the good times means little in terms of overall character.

It is one thing to be generous when you are rich, but it is minor compared to being generous when you are poor. In the same vein, it is one thing to resist tyranny when it is easy, compared to when it may cost you everything.

It is not possible to be weak and virtuous. Being meek and a gentleman is a luxury of the strong.

A couple of relevant articles:

• Why Fortitude Is The Most Important Of The Seven Virtues
• The Obedient Always Think Of Themselves As Virtuous, Instead Of Cowardly

In the same capacity, to be a gentleman you must first have the capability of being violent and dominant. It’s impossible to be merciful if you cannot cause the conditions where mercy is a preferable, virtuous alternative.

In some contexts, it is necessary to demonstrate meekness. In others, one should be able to do harm. But you can’t work within the proper context depending on the situation if you cannot utilize strength when it is needed in the first place.

Weak Christians exemplify this to an extreme. They worship tolerance because it is an easy out for a weak person, which makes them feel virtuous even though the only thing they could do is tolerate, because they have no fight or ability to confront in them. If meekness is their only attribute, it is not virtuous to demonstrate that attribute. It is simply weakness that permeates the whole.

A man must be capable of doing harm but decide not to. Anything else is simply a weak man demonstrating his weakness.

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