“Nobody can acquire honor by doing what is wrong.” – Thomas Jefferson
“The difference between a moral man and a man of honor is that the latter regrets a discreditable act even when it has worked and he has not been caught.” – H. L. Mencken
This means that YOU know, even when others don’t, and YOU are the most important one who needs to be satisfied that you are honorable.
There are a few other dimensions of honor I’d like to put out there. I think integrity is part of honor. That your words and actions match, even when nobody knows all your actions but you.
Another dimension is to be a person that strives to live up into your potential. While we can never live to our full potential because it is infinite, a person that gives up, one who is not serving others, or a person that is wasting their life, is not honorable to me. Honor takes effort.
Another idea I want to express is that it’s never too late to begin living honorably, no matter what we have done in the past. Start. You are the one who really knows, and you are the one it should matter the most to.
“The man who makes a promise he does not intend to keep, and does not try to keep, should rightly be adjudged to have forfeited in some degree what should be every man’s most precious possession – his honor. – Theodore Roosevelt
Lastly, I leave you with this –
“On the whole, it is better to deserve honors and not have them, than to have them and not deserve them. – Mark Twain
May we all live honorably.
Exactly!!
I love this piece you have written and the added quotes from the honorable and great minds are good reminders for us all. Society in general needs honor in order to flourish and survive.
Thank you for taking the time and effort to write down your thoughts for all of us.
This was a really great series Larry. Thank you
These posts on honor have been great, thank you for sharing’
I am really enjoying this series on Honor. The quotes and your comments are spot on!