“ A gentleman, once it has been spiritualised and refined out of its old coarse, objective sense, means hardly more than a man whom the speaker likes. ”
C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (1952). copy citation
Author | C. S. Lewis |
---|---|
Source | Mere Christianity |
Topic | meaning gentleman |
Date | 1952 |
Language | English |
Reference | |
Note | Adapted from a series of BBC radio talks made between 1942 and 1944 |
Weblink | https://www.dacc.edu/assets/pdfs/PCM/merechristianitylewis.pdf |
Context
“When a word ceases to be a term of description and becomes merely a term of praise, it no longer tells you facts about the object: it only tells you about the speaker’s attitude to that object. (A ‘nice’ meal only means a meal the speaker likes.) A gentleman, once it has been spiritualised and refined out of its old coarse, objective sense, means hardly more than a man whom the speaker likes. As a result, gentleman is now a useless word. We had lots of terms of approval already, so it was not needed for that use; on the other hand if anyone (say, in a historical work) wants to use it in its old sense, he cannot do so without explanations.”
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