View source for Gravitas

{{Short description|Ancient Roman virtue}}
{{About|the ancient Roman virtue|other uses}}
{{Italic title}}
'''{{lang|la|Gravitas}}''' ({{IPA|la-x-classic|ˈɡrawɪt̪aːs̠|lang|link=yes}}) was one of the ancient [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] [[virtue]]s<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last=Forbis|first=Elizabeth|title=Municipal Virtues in the Roman Empire: The Evidence of Italian Honorary Inscriptions|year=1996|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|isbn=3519076284|location=Stuttgart|page=94}}</ref> that denoted seriousness.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|last=Shields|first=John C.|title=The American Aeneas: Classical Origins of the American Self|year=2001|publisher=University of Tennessee Press|isbn=1-57233-132-1|location=Knoxville, Tenn.|page=166}}</ref> It is also translated variously as weight, dignity, and importance and [[connotation|connotes]] restraint and moral rigor.<ref name=":3" /> It also conveys a sense of responsibility and commitment to the task.<ref name="apuzzo">{{cite journal|last1=Apuzzo|first1=L.J.|last2=Michael|first2=M.D.|date=August 2006|title=Gravitas, Severitas, Veritas, Virtus|journal=Neurosurgery|language=en|volume=59|issue=2|page=219|doi=10.1227/00006123-200608000-00001}}</ref>

Along with {{lang|la|[[pietas]]}} (regard for discipline and authority), {{lang|la|severitas}}, {{lang|la|gloria}}, {{lang|la|simplicitas}} (lucidity), {{lang|la|integritas}}, {{lang|la|[[Dignitas (Roman concept)|dignitas]]}}, and {{lang|la|[[virtus]]}}, {{lang|la|gravitas}} was particularly appreciated as an ideal characteristic in leaders.<ref name=":4" /> {{lang|la|Gravitas}} and {{lang|la|virtus}} are considered more canonical virtues than the others.<ref name=":3" />

== Roman concept ==
[[File:Creti Venus appearing to Aeneas.jpg|thumb|210px|[[Aeneas]], depicted here with [[Venus]], was considered the embodiment of {{lang|la|gravitas}}, {{lang|la|pietas}}, {{lang|la|dignitas}}, and {{lang|la|virtus}}.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Cunningham|first1=Lawrence S.|title=Culture and Values: A Survey of the Humanities, Volume I|last2=Reich|first2=John J.|last3=Fichner-Rathus|first3=Lois|year=2013|publisher=Wadsworth|isbn=978-1-133-95244-2|location=Boston, Mass.|page=117}}</ref>]]

{{lang|la|Gravitas}} was one of the virtues that allowed citizens, particularly statesmen, to embody the concept of {{lang|la|[[romanitas]]}},<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Augustine and Roman Virtue|last=Harding|first=Brian|year=2008|publisher=[[Continuum International Publishing Group]]|isbn=9781847062857|location=London|page=94}}</ref> which denotes what it meant to be Roman and how Romans regarded themselves, eventually evolving into a national character.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I2AuDwAAQBAJ&q=gravitas+romanitas&pg=PT25|title=How to be a Roman: A Day in the Life of a Roman Family|last=Chrystal|first=Paul|date=2017-07-15|publisher=Amberley Publishing|isbn=9781445665658|language=en}}</ref> Many Roman philosophers praised {{lang|la|constantia}} (perseverance, endurance, and courage), {{lang|la|dignitas}}, and {{lang|la|gravitas}} as the most important virtues; this is because they made dignified men capable. They accompany Roman actions.<ref>{{Cite book|title=A Companion to Livy|last=Mineo|first=Bernard|year=2014|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-118-30128-9|location=Malden, Mass.|page=132}}</ref> The men of the ruling upper and upper-middle classes were educated in a public school system where [[Classics|Classical]] language and literature formed basic elements of the curriculum.<ref>{{multiref2
|1={{cite book |last=Hingley |first=Richard| year=1996 |chapter=The 'legacy' of Rome: the rise, decline, and fall of the theory of Romanization |language=en |title=Roman Imperialism: Post-colonial Perspectives |issue=3 |page=37 |isbn=0951037765|series=Leicester Archaeology Monographs |editor-last1=Webster|editor-first1=J.|editor-last2=Cooper|editor-first2=N. |quote= The men of the ruling upper and upper-middle classes were educated in a public school system where Classical language and literature formed basic elements of the curriculum. Greek and Roman concepts, in particular the significant Roman concept of gravitas, played a fundamental role in the formation of the character of the English gentleman.}}
|2={{cite book |last1=Mason |first1=Philip |year=1982 |title=The English Gentleman: The Rise and Fall of an Ideal |url=https://archive.org/details/englishgentleman00maso |publisher=William Morrow and Co.|location=New York|url-access=registration |language=en |page=[https://archive.org/details/englishgentleman00maso/page/22 22]}}
}}</ref>

Exuding {{lang|la|gravitas}} or dignified and serious conduct allowed Romans to maintain a persistent element of [[conservatism]] and traditionalism.<ref name=":1" /> According to the Roman emperor and philosopher [[Marcus Aurelius]], the cultivation of {{lang|la|gravitas}} involves acting with sincerity and dignity, by being temperate in manner and speech as well as by carrying oneself with authority.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=Gravitas: Communicate with Confidence, Influence and Authority|last=Goyder|first=Caroline|date=2014-03-06|publisher=Random House|isbn=9781473501447|page=1}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=April 2021}}

Other sources associate {{lang|la|gravitas}} with living an austere lifestyle. It was one of the moral bases of the sanctioned control exercised by the Roman {{lang|la|censores}} (see [[Roman Censors]]).<ref name=":3" /> An account described how old statesmen who realized that they no longer meet the standards of {{lang|la|romanitas}} for failing to perform their public function with dignity and {{lang|la|gravitas}} committed suicide or simply refused taking food.<ref name=":0" /> This concerned how the Romans defined themselves and their honor.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Barton|first=Carlin A.|title=The Sorrows of the Ancient Romans: The Gladiator and the Monster|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=1995|isbn=0-691-01091-9|location=Princeton, N.J.|page=187}}</ref>

During [[Augustus]]' regime, {{lang|la|gravitas}} was not included in the four [[cardinal virtues]] ({{lang|la|virtus}}, {{lang|la|clementia}}, {{lang|la|justitia}}, and {{lang|la|pietas}}) that were introduced to establish the myth of the Roman emperor and the model of a good ruler.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Reinhold|first=Meyer|title=Studies in Classical History and Society|year=2002|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=0195145437|location=Oxford|page=64}}</ref>

==Greek presence==
{{Main|Modes of persuasion}}

Aristotle identified three essentials of persuasive communication—a component of personal presence:

#Logical argument (the ability to articulate your points clearly)
#Emotion (the ability to create or control emotion in your listeners)
#Character (the ability to convey integrity and goodwill)

==Modern concepts==
In the British education system, {{lang|la|gravitas}} was seen as one of the pillars of the moral formation of the English gentleman during the [[Victorian era|Victorian]] and [[Edwardian era|Edwardian]] eras.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hingley|first=Richard|title=Roman Officers and English Gentlemen: The Imperial Origins of Roman Archaeology|publisher=Routledge|year=2013|isbn=978-0415235792|location=London|pages=102}}</ref> This partly derived from the notion of aristocratic pedigree, indicating polish, grace in manner, and dignity in outward appearance.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Education in Manliness: The Legacy of Thring's Uppingham|last=Tozer|first=Malcolm|date=2018-03-28|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-351-06592-4|location=Oxon}}</ref> The [[British Empire]] also derived from the moral concept of {{lang|la|[[imperium]]}} such that {{lang|la|gravitas}} and other Roman virtues were idealized in its imperial society and in the governance of its dominion.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|last=Patterson|first=Steven|title=The Cult of Imperial Honor in British India|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2009|isbn=9781349377459|location=New York|page=146}}</ref> [[British Raj|India]], for instance, was ruled by men whose senses of power were imbued with Roman virtues.<ref name=":5" /> The concept of {{lang|la|imperium}} also dominated the colonial Civil Service.<ref name=":5" /> The United Kingdom [[House of Commons]] also uses the term "bottom",<ref>{{citation|author=[[Austin Mitchell]], Sharon Goulds|title=Westminster Man: A Tribal Anthropology of the Commons People|pages=250, 271|year=1982|publisher=Thames Methuen|isbn=9780423003802}}</ref> which is the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] code for {{lang|la|gravitas}}.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=glkIDgAAQBAJ&q=gravitas+bottom+house+of+commons&pg=PT128|title=The Wintertons Unmuzzled: The Life & Times of Nick & Ann Winterton, Two Westminster Mavericks|last=Winterton|first=Sarah|date=2017-01-24|publisher=Biteback Publishing|isbn=978-1-78590-207-9|language=en}}</ref>

{{lang|la|Gravitas}} is also used in [[communication]], particularly in speech, where it denotes the use of emphasis in order to give certain words weight.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Goyder |first=Caroline |author-link=Caroline Goyder |title=Gravitas: Communicate with Confidence, Influence and Authority |publisher=Vermilion |year=2014 |isbn=9780091954956 |location=London |page=99}}</ref> [[Self-monitoring]] questions can determine expressive behavior and affective display, which could translate to {{lang|la|gravitas}} in the way one conducts oneself or speaks.{{Relevance inline|date=July 2020}} Self-monitoring questions can include: am I staying neutral, hindering direction, or am I helping to contribute with my participation?<ref>{{cite web |last1=Peck |first1=David |title=Get Your Gravitas On: 6 Secrets of Executive Presence |url=https://www.recoveringleader.com/leadership/2013/01/get-your-gravitas-on-6-secrets-of-executive-presence.html |publisher=www.recoveringleader.com |access-date=13 May 2019}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|History|Philosophy}}
* {{annotated link|Auctoritas|''Auctoritas''}}
* {{annotated link|Good faith}} – also known as {{lang|la|bona fides}} in Latin
* {{annotated link|Potestas|''Potestas''}}
* {{annotated link|Precommitment}}
* {{annotated link|Xenia (Greek)}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Wiktionary inline|gravitas}}

{{Ancient Rome topics}}
{{Virtues}}

[[Category:Latin words and phrases]]
[[Category:Ancient Roman virtues]]