Strength and Honour

Day 441, 11:08 • Published in Romania Hungary • by Quicksilver

Strength and Honour

I am a long-time fan of ancient Roman history. It sure has a magical allure to one, valuing republican qualities and meritocracy at its best. I think I had lived there in a previous life, sometime when Sulla and Gaius Marius wrote the last, dying chapters of a republican Rome’s history… It sure felt like it was my own past, when I read the stories and history books. Strength and honour, much simpler and common sense virtues than later the medieval knights’ ’protect the weak’ motto… it does ring a great tone in one’s soul. Who wouldn’t be strong and honourable? Who wouldn’t want to identify himself with virtues that created a vast empire and at the same time remained simple and retained much of the qualities stemming from a small warrior tribe, wandering out of Troy, and finding a new home amongst barbarian tribes? Yes, strength is undoubtedly something that all men crave… some just want it more, as Achilles said, the ultimate warrior.

So, strength is what we all want and testosterone to foam out of our ears and adrenalin to pump blood into our head (occasionally to elsewhere…), and we all want the thrill of a battle, the blood-curdling swears, the hot and satiating exultation of a victory, the fierce competition and the enemy defeated, but not killed. For it satisfies both honour and our low wish to see it stand again to be defeated again… for strength need on thing for existence: weakness. These opposites define each other. No matter how strong you are, how the best and bravest you have become – it worth absolutely nothing without somebody weaker. Whom do you beat if you have no adversary, or you let it grow stronger, strong enough to withstand you? Your strength becomes nothing, it is empty air only if you cannot defeat someone. So you let your enemies grow, for strength needs a challenge too, but no so strong as to present a real threat. And that IS a weakness. That IS cowardice. That IS dishonour.

Real honour would welcome a real adversary, whose strength was equal to your own. That would be a challenge, not throwing your weight about menacing smaller countries, and using the fallacy of the system by saving Gold (imagine that, how much gold honour worth???) by taking over a country, its presidency and in the meantime losing that indefinable something that is more than strength, more than honour – it is reputation. It is a good name. It is the regard in which others hold you. It is what will sometime decide somebody’s stance for or against you. Strength often says that it cares little for reputation. Well, it is a lie. Strength is the most vain human virtue. Strength must be seen, admired, appreciated and above all praised. So strength does really care about its reputation – that is why it goes around and tries to explain itself and its actions. Honour on the other hand needs no explanation; it is an act that speaks for itself, while vain strength roams around hollering itself.

So proud Romanian warriors, I salute you.

Strength and Honour.

May you find both.



[My thanks to ghishae and TaviTav to start the train of thought in me which led to this article. You may blame them too. 🙂]