While the traditional masculine ideals of 'independence, moderation, courage and self-command' remained central, from the late seventeenth century, increasing emphasis was placed on civility, as the ideal of 'the polite man of the eighteenth century replaced the martial hero of earlier periods'. And with the emergence of the 'culture of sensibility' in the middle of the eighteenth century, sensibility came to be viewed as both a touchstone of true civility and gentlemanliness and a corrective to artificial politeness and over-refinement. Nor was there any inherent contradiction between sensibility and manliness, as Adam Smith maintained: 'Our sensibility to the feelings of others, so far from being inconsistent with the manhood of self-command, is the very principle upon which that manhood is founded', as 'the man who feels the most for the joys and sorrows of others, is best fitted for acquiring the most complete control of his own joys and sorrows'.
Andrea McKenzie, Tyburn's Martyrs. Continuum (New York: 2007) p. 213. Quite a good book, by the way.
