--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: After all, there is such a thing as…" description: "\"After all, there is such a thing as looking like a gentleman. There are men whose class no dirt or rags can hide, any more than they could Ulysses. I h..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9a/charles-kingsley-1896_accidents_after-all-there-is-such-a-thing-as-looki_3072997.png" --- # After all, there is such a thing as looking like a… ![“After all, there is such a thing as looking like a gentleman. There are men whose class no dirt or rags can hide, any more than they could Ulysses. I have seen such men in plenty among workmen, too; but, on the whole, the gentleman--by whom I do not mean just now the rich--have the superiority in…” quote by Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9a/charles-kingsley-1896_accidents_after-all-there-is-such-a-thing-as-looki_3072997.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9a/charles-kingsley-1896_accidents_after-all-there-is-such-a-thing-as-looki_3072997.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9a/charles-kingsley-1896_accidents_after-all-there-is-such-a-thing-as-looki_3072997.png) > “After all, there is such a thing as looking like a gentleman. There are men whose class no dirt or rags can hide, any more than they could Ulysses. I have seen such men in plenty among workmen, too; but, on the whole, the gentleman--by whom I do not mean just now the rich--have the superiority in that point. But not, please God, forever. Give us the same air, water, exercise, education, good society, and you will see whether this "haggardness," this "coarseness" (etc., for the list is too long to specify), be an accident, or a property, of the man of the people.” [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True gentlemanliness stems from character and education, not wealth; it can be found among all classes, though not eternally. **In simple terms:** Being a gentleman is about character, not money, and can appear anywhere. Key Takeaway Cultivate character and seek good company. Themes character class education social mobility Mood contemplative analytical Type philosophical social When to use this quote - workplace - community groups - education - social circles Key Concepts ethics social class identity Questions to Reflect On - What defines true dignity for you? - Can class be transcended through education? A Different Perspective Gentlemanliness may be idealized and not universally attainable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accidents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accidents/) [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Dirt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dirt/) [Exercise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exercise/) [Gentleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gentleman/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Property](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/property/) [Ulysses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ulysses/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) ## Related quotes > [If you cannot say what you mean, your majesty, you will never mean what you say and a gentleman should always mean what he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-cannot-say-what-you-mean-your-majesty-you-will-never-mean-what/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you can imagine photography in the guise of a woman and you’d ask her what she thought of Stieglitz, she’d say: He always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-stieglitz/if-you-can-imagine-photography-in-the-guise-of-a-woman-and-you-d-ask/) [Alfred Stieglitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-stieglitz/) > [Be well dressed, behave like a gentleman, and keep your shoes shined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-abboud/be-well-dressed-behave-like-a-gentleman-and-keep-your-shoes-shined/) [Joseph Abboud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-abboud/) > [“I cannot suppose there is anybody here who would think it either a good life, or an amusing one, to sit with one's hands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-morris/i-cannot-suppose-there-is-anybody-here-who-would-think-it-either-a/) [William Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-morris/) > [Hardly ever can a youth transferred to the society of his betters unlearn the nasality and other vices of speech bred in him by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/hardly-ever-can-a-youth-transferred-to-the-society-of-his-betters/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [A lady is a woman who makes a man behave like a gentleman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-lynes/a-lady-is-a-woman-who-makes-a-man-behave-like-a-gentleman/) [Russell Lynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-lynes/) > [And then he danced,-all foreigners excel the serious Angels in the eloquence of pantomime;-he danced, I say, right well, with emphasis, and a'so with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/and-then-he-danced-all-foreigners-excel-the-serious-angels-in-the/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [Meet success like a gentleman; disaster like a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/meet-success-like-a-gentleman-disaster-like-a-man/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [A lady is a woman who makes a man behave like a gentleman. You're such a lady to me.Losing you will feel like holding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crosby-kwaw/a-lady-is-a-woman-who-makes-a-man-behave-like-a-gentleman-you-re-such/) [Crosby Kwaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crosby-kwaw/) > [Dress like a gentleman, but my mouth is never civilized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-glover/dress-like-a-gentleman-but-my-mouth-is-never-civilized/) [Donald Glover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-glover/) > [We have only one rule here - to act like a gentleman at all times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-lee/we-have-only-one-rule-here-to-act-like-a-gentleman-at-all-times/) [Robert E. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-lee/) > [The soul and body are joint-sharers in every thing they get: A man cannot dress, but his ideas get cloath'd at the same time;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/the-soul-and-body-are-joint-sharers-in-every-thing-they-get-a-man/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [How to Drink Like a Gentleman: The Things to Do and the Things Not To, as Learned in 30 Years' Extensive Research.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/how-to-drink-like-a-gentleman-the-things-to-do-and-the-things-not-to/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [McLaggen makes Grawp look like a gentleman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/mclaggen-makes-grawp-look-like-a-gentleman/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The object of golf is not just to win. It is to play like a gentleman, and win.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-mickelson/the-object-of-golf-is-not-just-to-win-it-is-to-play-like-a-gentleman/) [Phil Mickelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-mickelson/) ## More by Charles Kingsley > [A fine lady; by which term I wish to express the result of that perfect education in taste and manner, down to every gesture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/a-fine-lady-by-which-term-i-wish-to-express-the-result-of-that/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [If I am ever obscure in my expressions, do not fancy that therefore I am deep. If I were really deep, all the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/if-i-am-ever-obscure-in-my-expressions-do-not-fancy-that-therefore-i/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [Those clouds are angels' robes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/those-clouds-are-angels-robes/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [He was one of those men who possess almost every gift, except the gift of the power to use them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/he-was-one-of-those-men-who-possess-almost-every-gift-except-the-gift/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [Do you feel that you have lost your way in life? Then God Himself will show you your way. Are you utterly helpless, worn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/do-you-feel-that-you-have-lost-your-way-in-life-then-god-himself-will/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [My friends, let us try to follow the Saviour's steps; let us remember all day long what it is to be men; that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/my-friends-let-us-try-to-follow-the-saviour-s-steps-let-us-remember/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [We have used the Bible as if it was a mere special constable's handbook — an opium-dose for keeping beasts of burden patient while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/we-have-used-the-bible-as-if-it-was-a-mere-special-constable-s/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [He was not only, I soon discovered, a water drinker, but a strict vegetarian, to which, perhaps, he owed a great deal of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/he-was-not-only-i-soon-discovered-a-water-drinker-but-a-strict/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [Look at the bow in the cloud, in the very rain itself. That is a sign that the sun, though you cannot see it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/look-at-the-bow-in-the-cloud-in-the-very-rain-itself-that-is-a-sign/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [Beauty is God's handwriting — a wayside sacrament; welcome it in every fair face, every fair sky, every fair flower, and thank for it Him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/beauty-is-god-s-handwriting-a-wayside-sacrament-welcome-it-in-every/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [Men must work, and women must weep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/men-must-work-and-women-must-weep/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [... the heroism of the average mother. Ah! When I think of that broad fact, I gather hope again for poor humanity; and this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/the-heroism-of-the-average-mother-ah-when-i-think-of-that-broad-fact/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [“Except a living man there is nothing more wonderful than a book. A message to us from the dead - from human souls we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/except-a-living-man-there-is-nothing-more-wonderful-than-a-book-a/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [Be good, sweet maid, and let who will be clever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/be-good-sweet-maid-and-let-who-will-be-clever/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [Music has been called the speech of the angels; I will go farther and call it the speech of God Himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/music-has-been-called-the-speech-of-the-angels-i-will-go-farther-and/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) [Explore all 199 Charles Kingsley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) ## More Accidents quotes > [Almost all accidents take place because of human distraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-thrun/almost-all-accidents-take-place-because-of-human-distraction/) [Sebastian Thrun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-thrun/) > [It was no accident, no coincidence, that the seasons came round and round year after year. It was the Lord speaking to us all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-rivers/it-was-no-accident-no-coincidence-that-the-seasons-came-round-and/) [Francine Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-rivers/) > [No, I think most astronauts recognize that the space shuttle program is very high-risk, and are prepared for accidents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-ride/no-i-think-most-astronauts-recognize-that-the-space-shuttle-program/) [Sally Ride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-ride/) > [In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/in-presenting-a-mathematical-argument-the-great-thing-is-to-give-the/) [John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/) > [The only way to have a funeral is to invite everyone who ever knew the person and just wait for the accident to happen-somebody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/the-only-way-to-have-a-funeral-is-to-invite-everyone-who-ever-knew/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [Good films are not made by accident, nor is good photography. You can have good things happen, on occasion, by accident that can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-willis/good-films-are-not-made-by-accident-nor-is-good-photography-you-can/) [Gordon Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-willis/) > [By education I am an Englishman, by views an internationalist, by culture a Muslim and a Hindu only by accident of birth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jawaharlal-nehru/by-education-i-am-an-englishman-by-views-an-internationalist-by/) [Jawaharlal Nehru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jawaharlal-nehru/) > [I made out with a homeless guy by accident. I had no idea -- he was really tan, he had no shoes on. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-schumer/i-made-out-with-a-homeless-guy-by-accident-i-had-no-idea-he-was/) [Amy Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-schumer/) > [Naturally I feel no shame in writing these things because of the time which separates the moment when they are written--when only I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-ernaux/naturally-i-feel-no-shame-in-writing-these-things-because-of-the-time/) [Annie Ernaux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-ernaux/) > [In a city where you walk around, it's impossible to plan your day and your life as accidents will happen, you'll overhear things, bump…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-schwartzman/in-a-city-where-you-walk-around-it-s-impossible-to-plan-your-day-and/) [Jason Schwartzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-schwartzman/) > [I don't think it's by accident that I was first attracted to translating two French women poets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-hacker/i-don-t-think-it-s-by-accident-that-i-was-first-attracted-to/) [Marilyn Hacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-hacker/) > [Despite my mentors advice that I would never go to heaven fishing with a weighted nymph and a float, I took it up. (As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-bishop/despite-my-mentors-advice-that-i-would-never-go-to-heaven-fishing/) [Tony Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-bishop/) > [Dont stand outside in a lightning shower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/padraig/dont-stand-outside-in-a-lightning-shower/) [Padraig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/padraig/) > [In the eyes of those lovers of perfection, a work is never finished a word that for them has no sense but abandoned; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/in-the-eyes-of-those-lovers-of-perfection-a-work-is-never-finished-a/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [My musical career was an accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sade-adu/my-musical-career-was-an-accident/) [Sade Adu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sade-adu/) [Browse all 1,971 Accidents quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accidents/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "After all, there is such a thing as looking like a gentleman. There are men whose class no dirt or rags can hide, any more than they could Ulysses. I have seen such men in plenty among workmen, too; but, on the whole, the gentleman--by whom I do not mean just now the rich--have the superiority in that point. But not, please God, forever. 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