Honour

“Fear and honour” by Mark Grealish,
Creative Commons “Attribution-NonCommercial” licence at Flickr..

“Reputation is what other people know about you. Honor is what you know about yourself.”
– Lois McMaster Bujold

“Honor and shame from no condition rise; act well your part, there all the honor lies.”
– Alexander Pope

Honour

ME let the world disparage and despise—
The world, that hugs its soul-corroding chains,
The world, that spends for such ignoble gains.
Let foe or bigot wrap my name in lies;
Let Justice, blind and maimed and halt, chastise
The rebel-spirit surging in my veins;
Let the Law deal me penalties and pains;
Let me be outcast in my neighbours’ eyes.

But let me fall not in my own esteem,
By poor deceit or petty greed debased;
Let me be clean from undetected shame;
Know myself true, though heretic I seem;
Know myself faithful, howsoe’er disgraced;
Upright and strong, for all the load of blame.

– Ada Cambridge