Honour unguided, like a dream, is easily broken. Shattered among the ground, the shards of honour have created the most vile of mankind, the individuals deceived by the satisfaction of mere authority. By replacing virtue as the guide to honour, destruction and evil fills the empty void and throws mankind into the oblivion of a single, deceptive belief: that an individual acts as the possessor of honour, when instead, one has forsaken her long ago. However, men are not only the devices of tyranny, but also the shining hope of freedom. Over the years, honour has been entrusted to the knights, the watchmen, and the soldiers who have paid the greatest price to protect the ones they love. G.K. Chesterton understood the soldier's honour as a commitment to the virtues of love, hope, and obedience, when he stated, “The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.”1 Though unguided honour has ravaged the history of civilization, honour that is guided by the virtues of love, hope, and obedience, has defined the true concept of honour that all have come to respect.
History has testified to the horrors committed in the name of honour. Perhaps the most infamous acts performed under the guise of honour were the ones described by General Eisenhower at Ohdruf's Concentration camp in Normandy; “... [It was] beyond the American mind to comprehend.... I never dreamed that such cruelty, bestiality, and savagery could really exist in this world.”2 Eisenhower ordered every high ranking official in the local area to immediately witness the grotesque mutilations that America was fighting to end. The execrable events that marked Hitler's ending were not the events that marked his beginning. Hitler did not rise to power upon fear and atrocity, but he rose upon the love and loyalty of the German people.
The Führer did not merely promise wealth, power, and dignity, but he also fulfilled his promises faithfully. Six years after Hitler assumed office, the bankrupt, ill, and indecisive Weihmer Republic became the rich, flourishing, and commanding Third Reich. But what Germany neither saw nor took heed to understand was what Hitler's promises were guided by; as described in the Mein Kampf3, Adolf's passions were guided by the lust for domination and the desire for revenge. Germany's transformation was surely delivered, but not by the honour the German people believed in. The German people believed in an honour that was defined by virtue, but desired national honour so passionately that an entire nation was willing to risk life, liberty, and country for anything that resembled true honour.
Few have endured and have been guided by the virtues of true honour. A knight's accomplishments are not recognized by actions, promises, or fulfillment alone but by the guidance of love, hope, and obedience. The first and greatest virtue is love. Love is the all-encompassing virtue that withstands all the troubles of life: “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things - true love never fails”4. The second is hope. “Hope is faith holding out its hand in the dark”5: it is the light of God being seen when all lights go out. Through the darkest of times and through the perilous of moments, the virtue of hope continually assures the watchman of what is true when nothing is to be seen. And the last quality of honour is obedience. Obedience is the act of walking down the path less traveled not because one wishes, but because one must. The collection of virtues defining honour is demonstrated by the choices an individual makes; one chooses either to uphold the virtues of honour through all the toils of life or to abandon honour when she is most needed. Unlike the sunshine patriot, the bearer of honour is not defined by what he wishes, but by what he is given, and by what he accomplishes.
Though historically the knight in shining armour has been the epiphany of the nobility of honour, the definition of honour has also been described by the ancient philosophers and completed by the Christian belief. Aristotle believed, “Every art and every investigation, and similarly every action and pursuit, is considered to aim at some good. Hence the Good has been rightly defined as 'that at which all things aim'.”6 Aristotle described that all of mankind travels down the road of life to find happiness and, in so doing, directs all actions towards objects of goodness. And from the path of goodness mankind immortalizes the men and woman who reach the pinnacle of goodness – which is honour. The German people believed in Hitler not because of the concentration camps, but because he was able to renew Germany.
The Nazi regime rebuilt destroyed cities, fed the famished citizens, and carried the burden of the people. With so much good, how did Hitler's honour end with such atrocities? Honour ended with evil because the ancient philosophers could not define the standard of goodness, therefore the path to honour was the path that each person believed to be right – all paths lead to honour. Without a standard to guide honour, honour became as morally good as described by the people who benefited by her riches and as morally evil as described by the people who were destroyed by her deception. Honour was a dead end, a poor collection of good thoughts, until Christianity asserted a standard to goodness that the ancient philosophers could not conjecture.
History has testified to the horrors committed in the name of honour. Perhaps the most infamous acts performed under the guise of honour were the ones described by General Eisenhower at Ohdruf's Concentration camp in Normandy; “... [It was] beyond the American mind to comprehend.... I never dreamed that such cruelty, bestiality, and savagery could really exist in this world.”2 Eisenhower ordered every high ranking official in the local area to immediately witness the grotesque mutilations that America was fighting to end. The execrable events that marked Hitler's ending were not the events that marked his beginning. Hitler did not rise to power upon fear and atrocity, but he rose upon the love and loyalty of the German people.
The Führer did not merely promise wealth, power, and dignity, but he also fulfilled his promises faithfully. Six years after Hitler assumed office, the bankrupt, ill, and indecisive Weihmer Republic became the rich, flourishing, and commanding Third Reich. But what Germany neither saw nor took heed to understand was what Hitler's promises were guided by; as described in the Mein Kampf3, Adolf's passions were guided by the lust for domination and the desire for revenge. Germany's transformation was surely delivered, but not by the honour the German people believed in. The German people believed in an honour that was defined by virtue, but desired national honour so passionately that an entire nation was willing to risk life, liberty, and country for anything that resembled true honour.
Few have endured and have been guided by the virtues of true honour. A knight's accomplishments are not recognized by actions, promises, or fulfillment alone but by the guidance of love, hope, and obedience. The first and greatest virtue is love. Love is the all-encompassing virtue that withstands all the troubles of life: “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things - true love never fails”4. The second is hope. “Hope is faith holding out its hand in the dark”5: it is the light of God being seen when all lights go out. Through the darkest of times and through the perilous of moments, the virtue of hope continually assures the watchman of what is true when nothing is to be seen. And the last quality of honour is obedience. Obedience is the act of walking down the path less traveled not because one wishes, but because one must. The collection of virtues defining honour is demonstrated by the choices an individual makes; one chooses either to uphold the virtues of honour through all the toils of life or to abandon honour when she is most needed. Unlike the sunshine patriot, the bearer of honour is not defined by what he wishes, but by what he is given, and by what he accomplishes.
Though historically the knight in shining armour has been the epiphany of the nobility of honour, the definition of honour has also been described by the ancient philosophers and completed by the Christian belief. Aristotle believed, “Every art and every investigation, and similarly every action and pursuit, is considered to aim at some good. Hence the Good has been rightly defined as 'that at which all things aim'.”6 Aristotle described that all of mankind travels down the road of life to find happiness and, in so doing, directs all actions towards objects of goodness. And from the path of goodness mankind immortalizes the men and woman who reach the pinnacle of goodness – which is honour. The German people believed in Hitler not because of the concentration camps, but because he was able to renew Germany.
The Nazi regime rebuilt destroyed cities, fed the famished citizens, and carried the burden of the people. With so much good, how did Hitler's honour end with such atrocities? Honour ended with evil because the ancient philosophers could not define the standard of goodness, therefore the path to honour was the path that each person believed to be right – all paths lead to honour. Without a standard to guide honour, honour became as morally good as described by the people who benefited by her riches and as morally evil as described by the people who were destroyed by her deception. Honour was a dead end, a poor collection of good thoughts, until Christianity asserted a standard to goodness that the ancient philosophers could not conjecture.
The virtues of honour are completed by the doctrines of the Christian faith by defining the virtues of love, hope, and obedience with the standard and purity of God's goodness. The prophet Micah stated, “ He hath shewed thee, O man, what [is] good; and what doth the LORD require of thee. But to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”7 Through the Ten Commandments and the prophets, mankind was shown God's expectancy, provided the standard of goodness, and shown why honour was treasured above all other virtues. Honour stands alone unlike any virtue because honour is defined by something beyond mankind – defined by God – because honour is the virtue that saved mankind. The strife for true honour has been the story of every civilization and the glory of every belief.
In Paradise Lost, Milton portrays the acts of honour in the elegance of poems and valiance of legends. The Biblical story of creation and the fall of mankind depicts the struggles and the importance between the bonds of male and female; between a man and a wife; between a knight and his love; and between life and death. As Adam held the forbidden fruit in his hand, he chose the ultimate sacrifice for the one he loved. Looking at Eve, Adam proclaimed, “If death consort with thee, death is to me as life.... Our state cannot be severed. We are one, One Flesh. To lose thee were to lose myself.”8 Adam ate the fruit, his body died, and his soul separated from his creator. In the love for his wife, in the hope for the things to come, and in the obedience to one bond, Adam perished with Eve. Adam's choice was the only choice for Eve to be saved from death.
For thousands of years after the death of Adam, the race of man fell; but love, hope, and obedience endured. The sacrifice committed by Adam was a great sacrifice, and the cost was dear, for again, “darkness fell upon the face of the deep”9. And in darkness, mankind awaited another sacrifice. Ten Thousand years later, God, in all His glory, came to fulfill that honourable sacrifice. As the Bible speaks about the church being the Bride of Christ, so did Christ endure the sacrifice for the sin of His wife. Upon the cross, Christ bore the shame that Adam carried before his Creator long ago in the garden. Christ tasted the fruit of his creation, His body died, and His spirit was separated from His Father. In the love for His Bride, in the hope for the few to be saved, and in the obedience to God, Christ died and rose from the grave. Virtue prevailed so that two may be together again. Honour is defined by sacrificial love, impelling hope, and determined obedience.
Unguided honour has been the demise to every good intention, but the fulfillment of every good deed is the pleasures of true honour. The love of every knight, the keeper of every watchman, and the duty of every soldier is to understand true honour.“To love is to risk not being loved in return. To hope is to risk pain. To try is to risk failure, but risk must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.”10 To risk everything is to gain honour – the greatest of virtues.
In Paradise Lost, Milton portrays the acts of honour in the elegance of poems and valiance of legends. The Biblical story of creation and the fall of mankind depicts the struggles and the importance between the bonds of male and female; between a man and a wife; between a knight and his love; and between life and death. As Adam held the forbidden fruit in his hand, he chose the ultimate sacrifice for the one he loved. Looking at Eve, Adam proclaimed, “If death consort with thee, death is to me as life.... Our state cannot be severed. We are one, One Flesh. To lose thee were to lose myself.”8 Adam ate the fruit, his body died, and his soul separated from his creator. In the love for his wife, in the hope for the things to come, and in the obedience to one bond, Adam perished with Eve. Adam's choice was the only choice for Eve to be saved from death.
For thousands of years after the death of Adam, the race of man fell; but love, hope, and obedience endured. The sacrifice committed by Adam was a great sacrifice, and the cost was dear, for again, “darkness fell upon the face of the deep”9. And in darkness, mankind awaited another sacrifice. Ten Thousand years later, God, in all His glory, came to fulfill that honourable sacrifice. As the Bible speaks about the church being the Bride of Christ, so did Christ endure the sacrifice for the sin of His wife. Upon the cross, Christ bore the shame that Adam carried before his Creator long ago in the garden. Christ tasted the fruit of his creation, His body died, and His spirit was separated from His Father. In the love for His Bride, in the hope for the few to be saved, and in the obedience to God, Christ died and rose from the grave. Virtue prevailed so that two may be together again. Honour is defined by sacrificial love, impelling hope, and determined obedience.
Unguided honour has been the demise to every good intention, but the fulfillment of every good deed is the pleasures of true honour. The love of every knight, the keeper of every watchman, and the duty of every soldier is to understand true honour.“To love is to risk not being loved in return. To hope is to risk pain. To try is to risk failure, but risk must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.”10 To risk everything is to gain honour – the greatest of virtues.
1. G.K. Chesterton, Chesterton Society, www.chesterton.org (accessed 04/13/2011), ILN, 1/14/11
2. General Dwight Eisenhower, Eisenhower Memorial, http://www.eisenhowermemorial.org/stories/death-camps.htm (accessed 04/13/2011)
3. Mein Kampf ( My Struggle) by Adolf Hitler, Published by Eher Verlag (accessed 04/13/2011)
4. Holy Bible, King James Version, 1 Cor. 13:4-8 [Paraphrased]
5. George Iles, Think Exist, http://thinkexist.com/quotation/hope_is_faith_holding_out_its_hand_in_the_dark/206715.html (accessed 04/13/2011)
6. Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, Book 1, Chapter 1, The Object of Life, pg. 1
7. Holy Bible,King James Version, Micah 6:8
8. Paradise Lost by John Milton , Book IX, pg. 285, Lines 953 – 959 (accessed 04/13/2011)
10. Bill Bixy, Think Exist, http://thinkexist.com/quotation/to_love_is_to_risk_not_being_loved_in_return-to/9949.html (accessed 04/13/2011)
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