“Life, every man holds dear; but the dear man holds honor
far more precious than life.”
The above statement written by the great English
poet and playwright, William Shakespeare
in one of his lesser known tragedies, Troilus
and Cressida, defines the true meaning of Honor among men. For any man worthy
of the name, life is never worth any price that will compromise his principles
and question his honor, irrespective of the circumstances.
Honor
is defined in many ways, but essentially relates to the respect and esteem
earned by an individual strictly through deed and reputation. It does not relate
to the automatic recognition of position or status of any one, nor is it ever
earned by simply doing remarkable things, even in impossible situations. Instead,
it is earned by the step-by-step acquisition of respect from others for deeds
done, and actions undertaken. The process is essentially slow and deliberate; as
good deeds accumulate, respect gradually builds; and in time, with more deeds
and more respect, comes Honor!
Honor
is neither inherited nor does it necessarily pass from generation to generation;
and it most certainly cannot be learnt from reading books or listening to
others. It can only be acquired by consciously setting a high regard for
personal principles, integrity and honesty, and by respecting the rights of
others to do the same. It can be passed on only by example, by setting and
maintaining standards, and by the provision of the right milieu of trust and
respect in which to develop. A child growing up in a home where respect,
loyalty and commitment are the norms will have a better chance of developing
these principles than one who does not. In my own life, whatever sense of honor
that I may possess is a direct reflection of the thinking and the actions of my
own parents, and their constantly repeated principle, drilled into us:
“Your word is your bond.”
In
the very same way, a society which recognizes the importance of Honor is more
likely to produce people of similar behavior among its members. And in absence
of this, the results are equally predictable as Herbert Hoover, the 31st President of the United States of America
so clearly explained:
“Where there is lack of honor in
Government,
the moral of the whole people are
poisoned.”
Unfortunately the world we
all share is suffering from major discontent mainly because the people and
their leaders have chosen to only give lip-service to honor, while they proceed
to do whatever they can to control and to dominate. It should be no surprise
therefore to find that instead of a world characterized by respect and honor
among the people, we are faced with the opposite, where the leaders themselves
are without honor and intent on retaining and expanding power by any means they
can devise; and the people, poisoned by them, have become subservient to their
will.
In the final analysis, perhaps the highly respected
German-Swiss author, poet, painter and Nobel laureate Hermann Hesse accurately understood, as we all should do as well,
the true meaning of honor among men when he wrote:
“It is not our purpose to become each other; it is
to recognize each other, to learn to see the other, and to honor him for what
he is.”
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