All  distinctions  of  disparagement,  merely  from  our  circum-
stances, are  such  as  will  not  bear  the  examination  of  reason.
The  courtier,  the  trader,  and  the  scholar  should  all  have  an
equal  pretension  to  the  denomination  of  a  gentleman.  That
tradesman  who  deals  with  me  in  a  commodity  which  I  do
not  understand,  with  uprightness,  has  much  more  right  to
that  character,  than  the  courtier  that  gives  me  false  hopes,
or  the  scholar  who  laughs  at  my  ignorance.  The  appellation
of  gentleman  is  never  to  be  affixed  to  a  man's  circumstances,
but  to  his  behaviour  in  them.
The  Taller,  no.  207.
I  see  no  reason  why  the  younger  brother  should  lose  the
honour  of  his  family  for  having  gotten  an  estate  by  his  wits,
as  we  call  it,  that  is,  by  industry  and  applicacion  to  bussiness,
suppose  it  an  honourable  bussiness,  any  more  than  the  Duke

of  should  lose  his  honour  and  dignity  for  marrying  the

daughter  of  a  mean  person.
1729,  D.  Defoe,  Compleat  English  Gentleman,  p.  265.
