Dealing With Honourable And Dishonourable People
Captain Rectitude (a Marvel comic character) was transformed into a super-being by the fictitious American Purity Foundation and his tunic features a purple love heart on it as a sign toward acting for good. Apparently of Jewish faith, and an alter ego of Bob Jones IV, this figure that lifts at least 90-tons and flies under his own steam, could only stand for righteousness (which is what all supposed super-heroes do in any event?!) if he were true to his name.
In reference to: Balthasar Gracian's Aphorism #116[1] -- Only act with honourable men -- Never have [anything] to do with such (dishonourable) men, for if honour does not restrain a man, virtue will not, since honour is the throne of rectitude.
Breaking down wisdom teaching is the key to its installation within our characters; its distillation through our souls.
Honour is the throne of rectitude:
Rectitude:- 1: the quality or state of being straight 2: moral integrity : righteousness 3: the quality or state of being correct in judgment or procedure.[2] Again, others describe this virtue as: Rightness of principle or practice; exact conformity to truth, or to the rules prescribed for moral conduct, either by divine or human laws; uprightness of mind; uprightness; integrity; honesty; justice.[3] There is also a state of certitude, as baseness of certainty of being or acting, within the posture of rectitude.
I would personally describe rectitude as a quality of the principle value of respect. (The system of principle values I propose comprises seven distinct virtues: diligence, prudence, shalom, balance, trust, respect, and wisdom. None of these is mutually exclusive however and rectitude would also interlace, for instance, with diligence and wisdom.)
When we have this quality of rectitude fitted consistently to our character's there is honour because honour is its basis i.e. the throne of rectitude. Honour is restraint. It's therefore love; it's refusing to act unless for good. The honourable person will "keep their oaths even when it hurts."[4]
Trust is obviously involved. We trust well when there's surety and that sense of an underpinning faithfulness in another's character; there's a mirror reflection in the interaction too back to ourselves -- how steadfastly faithful are we? Mutual trust is the key to the reciprocity of honour.
There's a key challenge in all this. How many people of true honour are there? How many are there in our circle of influence? How many of our friends and acquaintances would we consider 'honourable'? (Humour is a test: One of the hardest things I find is not laughing at vulgar humour -- challenging respectfully those otherwise honourable individuals who falter by virtue of their taste in jokes -- I do not want to laugh at crude, insensitive gags, yet I do at times because I daren't risk offense. [A case of personal dissonance over love (covering the offense) vs. justice tussle perhaps].)
Finally, what would we need to do to 'grow' the capacities of love, honour, and rectitude (in short, respect) in those we associate with? Wouldn't it start at home i.e. with us, as intimated above? I think so.
Honour is the throne of rectitude -- best we practice this unyielding, unrelenting form of respect, which is but founded in the truest heart of love and faithfulness that would go the extra mile or two (or however many) to honour another.
Copyright 2008, Steven J. Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
ENDNOTES:
[1] Full Aphorism: ACT ONLY WITH HONOURABLE MEN: You can trust them and they you. Their honour is the best surety of their behaviour even in misunderstandings, for they always act having regard to what they are. Hence 'tis better to have a dispute with honourable people than to have a victory over dishonourable ones. You cannot treat with the ruined, for they have no hostages for rectitude. With them there is no true friendship, and their agreements are not binding, however stringent they may appear, because they have no feeling of honour. Never have to do with such men, for if honour does not restrain a man, virtue will not, since honour is the throne of rectitude.
[2] Source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rectitude.
[3] Source: http://www.brainyquote.com/words/re/rectitude210935.html.
[4] See Psalm 15:4 (TNIV) - in reference to the Septuagint (Greek OT) and others in favour of the Masoretic Text (Hebrew OT) as it is questionable according to Robert Alter, The Book of Psalms: A Translation and Commentary (New York: W.W. Norton and Company, Inc., 2007).
Honour system sits well with Cadel - Sydney Morning Herald
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