Finding the Honor in Grace - Zelda Peach
"For it is only the love of honour that never grows old; and honour it is, not gain, as some would have it, that rejoices the heart of age and helplessness."
This is a quote from Pericles speech at the funeral of his dead men. I have read part of this speech last week in History 101 with Dr. Downs, but after reading the whole speech, it is so much better and holds more meaning. I particularly like this part that Pericles says about honor because I think it is beautiful and still obtains the same symbolism today. Pericles is stating that the most valuable asset in Greek culture is honor, and that honor itself is timeless. Holding honor and glory are the two most important things in Greek culture as we have learned, party due to the male dominance of the Greek society and also because of the way Greeks value education and wisdom. I love that Pericles also says that "gain" whether that is a physical object or societal position is not over honor. Holding one's own honor is over everything. He lastly states in this line, "that rejoices the heart of age and helplessness." meaning that honor is something that can revive the old through knowledge and grace, and help the helpless by aiding and providing dignity.
I think we can all learn from this idea of holding one's own honor with respect. Not just because we are all the members of the Honors College, but because holding respect for oneself and others is important. In today society people do not always have an inherent respect for themselves or those around them. We often judge people without knowing who they are or we are too hard on ourselves not remembering to allow space for grace. We need to remember to keep up this idea of holding honor and respect or else we will fall into a society without dignity. Holding personal honor to oneself means discipline, strength, knowledge, and character. Of course, we will all fail at times but overall I think the world needs to remember this concept of character and honor.
P.S I commented on AnnaKate and Will's posts.
This is a quote from Pericles speech at the funeral of his dead men. I have read part of this speech last week in History 101 with Dr. Downs, but after reading the whole speech, it is so much better and holds more meaning. I particularly like this part that Pericles says about honor because I think it is beautiful and still obtains the same symbolism today. Pericles is stating that the most valuable asset in Greek culture is honor, and that honor itself is timeless. Holding honor and glory are the two most important things in Greek culture as we have learned, party due to the male dominance of the Greek society and also because of the way Greeks value education and wisdom. I love that Pericles also says that "gain" whether that is a physical object or societal position is not over honor. Holding one's own honor is over everything. He lastly states in this line, "that rejoices the heart of age and helplessness." meaning that honor is something that can revive the old through knowledge and grace, and help the helpless by aiding and providing dignity.
I think we can all learn from this idea of holding one's own honor with respect. Not just because we are all the members of the Honors College, but because holding respect for oneself and others is important. In today society people do not always have an inherent respect for themselves or those around them. We often judge people without knowing who they are or we are too hard on ourselves not remembering to allow space for grace. We need to remember to keep up this idea of holding honor and respect or else we will fall into a society without dignity. Holding personal honor to oneself means discipline, strength, knowledge, and character. Of course, we will all fail at times but overall I think the world needs to remember this concept of character and honor.
P.S I commented on AnnaKate and Will's posts.
As a society, we have lost this concept of honor because we reject its traditional meaning. Some people pride themselves in how unhonorable they behave. Honorable traditions such as holding the door open for a lady, respectfully disagreeing with someone, brushing off insults, and respecting your parents have been kicked to the curb and, in some cases, even discouraged. In this individualistic culture, there is little room for family honor.
ReplyDeleteI think that a lot of us are not consumed by the pursuit of knowledge now. A lot of popular culture is simply wishing to find happiness through false idols and self love and a desire for acceptance from other people. There is honor, but simply not as much as there needs to be, like there was in Athens. You should preach this to your choir if you ever have one, I think there are certainly a few people out in this world today who are too blinded by the world around them and their desire to fit in that they lose their sense of honor that their parents tried to pass them down. So go get em tiger!
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