The final test of a gentleman is his respect for those who can be of no possible service to him.

Phelps frames “gentlemanliness” not as polish, pedigree, or social ease, but as an ethical standard revealed in asymmetrical relationships. The “final test” is how one treats people who offer no advantage—those without status, money, influence, or the ability to reciprocate. Respect here implies recognizing full human dignity regardless of utility. The line critiques transactional social behavior and aligns with a broader early-20th-century moral vocabulary in which character is measured by conduct toward the powerless (servants, strangers, the poor, subordinates). Its enduring appeal lies in its simple diagnostic: remove self-interest, and manners become morality.