XCVII
Honour
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Forbear from those things that would lower thee, even though they should be indispensable for the very preservation of thy life.
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Behold the men that desire to leave an honoured name behind them: they will not do that which is not right even for the sake of glory.
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Cultivate modesty in the day of prosperity: but in the day of thy decline hold fast to thy dignity.
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Behold the men that have soiled a name that was honourable: they are even as the locks of hair that have been shaven off the head and thrown away.
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Even men who are grand as a mountain will look small if they do an ignoble thing, though it should be only of the measure of a kunri seed.
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It bringeth not glory, neither doth it open the way unto heaven: why then doth a man try to live by fawning on men that despise him?
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It is better for a man to meet his doom at once without any ado than to maintain himself by hanging on to those that scorn him.
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Is the skin immortal, that men desire to save it even at the cost of honour?
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The kavarima giveth up its life when it loseth its wool: there are men who are as sensitive and they put an end to their lives when they cannot save their honour.
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Behold the men of honour who refuse to outlive their good name: the world will join its hands and worship at the altar of their glory.