His locked, lettered, braw brass collar

Showed him the gentleman and scholar.

Robert Burns (1759-1796): The Twa Dogs.

The best of men

That e'er wore earth about him was a sufferer;

A soft, meek, patient, humble, tranquil spirit,

The first true gentleman that ever breathed.

Thomas Dekker (1572-1632): The Honest Whore. Part i. Act i. Sc. 12.

And thus he bore without abuse

The grand old name of gentleman,

Defamed by every charlatan,

And soil'd with all ignoble use.

Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892): In Memoriam. cxi. Stanza 6.

The gentleman is not in your books.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616): Much Ado about Nothing. Act i. Sc. 1.

What imports the nomination of this gentleman?

William Shakespeare (1564-1616): Hamlet. Act v. Sc. 2.

Now bething the, gentilman,

How Adam dalf, and Eve span.

MS. of the Fifteenth Century (British Museum).

The prince of darkness is a gentleman.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616): King Lear. Act iii. Sc. 4.

The prince of darkness is a gentleman.

Sir John Suckling (1609-1641): The Goblins.

I was ne'er so thrummed since I was a gentleman.

Thomas Dekker (1572-1632): The Honest Whore. Part i. Act iv. Sc. 2.

This earth that bears thee dead

Bears not alive so stout a gentleman.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616): King Henry IV. Part I. Act v. Sc. 4.

When Adam dolve, and Eve span,

Who was then the gentleman?

Lines used by John Ball in Wat Tyler's Rebellion.