But our new model also hacked away at the requirement of the huge knowledgebase and skillset a true gentleman needed to deserve his title. The resulting gentleman is far more holographic, an image of refined man, without the required substance: He can own a handgun but need not know how to hunt; he should read a book for a dinner party but knows no more Greek than a few letters; he buys expensive paintings but can’t paint; he reads a list of to-do items in Esquire and does none of them. He probably can’t mount a horse at full gallop, lift a battle axe, or quote the Bible. He just plays the role convincingly.

This is something I’ve thought about a lot lately: what it means to be a man (or, in this case, a gentleman) in the modern age, and I’m not alone, judging by the flood of similar pieces I’ve seen strewn about the net over the past year or so. One particular definition in this piece struck me, though: to be a gentleman is simply to mature.

Gentlemen, Formerly - The Morning News