Providence College - Veritas Yearbook (Providence, RI)

Page 8 text:

A Kai .NA ,tl- U lV w il H, 4 52' 0 H Hi N, Ng - w? VN 0 H M 1 i gn

Page 7 text:

-JA r ,f I. '. In the span of recorded history, the vague concept of the Gentleman has assumed as many different shapes and forms as has civilization itself. The Creek gentleman strived for intellectual excellence and only secondarily regarded the manly virtues of bravery in war, stamina on the gaming fields, and competence in the every day mechanics of life. The Romans, reversing the order of things, relegated sheer intellectualism to a subordinate positiong the lawmaker's lexicon, the architect's plumb, the soldier's sword - these were the formal causes of Rome. The High Middle Ages produced a race which synthe- sized the Creek and Roman ideals, seeking to sublimate them to a nobler one. This was Qthe Christian concept of the brotherhood of man under the Fatherhood of Cod. It was the perfect knight who most closely approached Cardinal Newman's description of a gentleman: One who never inflicts pain. Succeeding generations mistook the accidents of knighthood for the essence. Nobility of soul and purpose was therefore perverted to an ellieminate code of conduct characterized by superficiality and' bombast. Even today this misconception persists in our adulation of the dashing playboy. v ' Providence' College, incorporating the philosophy and theology of St. Thomas into its program of liberal education, inculcates in the student a sense 'of ifobility, grounded on virtue informed by Charity. The Thomistic Gentleman is morally, socially, and intellectually, axfully developed man, embodying the ideals of previous ages. Possession of truth concerning Cod and creation, freedom from the domination of the mundane, ability to serve society and self-these are'the traits of . . 1 . ' - . I..

Page 9 text:

Q' d'F'Vl '95 fi Q . lv- If 5 4- :Lf . S f K W? .,, A 1 'E'- :rx Q3 J r:' :lj