"I hate your honour!" she cried. "Some things," I said, "are more compelling than the beauty of a woman."

Honour is after all far more than a sense of right or wrong. It has stronger ties to the soul of a man than, say, the relatively insignificant concept of fairness. It lies separate to the conscience, but is not completely dissociated from it; it does not control a man's actions but it influences them; to some it is more important than friendship, to others it comes before family. To say that honour constitutes "high respect; glory; reputation; good name" [definition provided by the Oxford English Dictionary]

Honour: the urge to behave in accordance with a code of conduct. For a man, honour is more than an extension of his conscience. It is a foundation of his society and a way of life. His honour is invaluable, delicate, and irretrievable if lost. That said, none but oneself can be responsible for the loss of ones honour; another man cannot tarnish your honour, another man cannot take your honour from you. Honour is a thing you own and control, and for which only you are responsible.

What, though, is the difference between having honour, and acting with honour, Does acting with honour not result in the gain of honour?

Honour requires a code of conduct

Keeping a man's codes is cardinal to keeping his honour intact. By doing so, then, he gains honour, and by not doing so, he loses honour.

Though each man may have a different code of conduct, thus making honour a highly personal thing

A man's honour lies entwined with his codes, his vows, and his pledges. In other words, the strength of a Warrior is only so great as the value he gives to his honour, for a Warrior without honour has turned away also from his codes and vows, and a Warrior without his codes is nothing. And further, this shows that a Warrior's word is valuable, because if he breaks his word or his pledges and vows, he sullies his honour, and this he would never do

Honour is the setting of high and *noble standards of personal conduct. The high standards set by honour derive from idealism and thus from the pursuit of excellence.

Honour is the instinct for nobility made conscious, and a code of honour is a means whereby the high standards of honour are set and a means whereby individuals strive to uphold and maintain them

Two ways to live…material or spiritual…

The noble way of life is the spiritual way of excellence and idealism

Honour is basically the natural instinct for nobility made conscious and this is done through a Code of Honour. Some things are fair, and some other things are unfair. A person of noble character - someone with an inborn sense of fairness - knows or feels what is fair and what is unfair. Honour thus determines personal behaviour, and a Code of Honour sets out the high standards of personal behaviour which honour demands. Most fundamental of all, an honourable person is prepared to die - if necessary by their own hand - rather than be dishonoured. If someone is not prepared to do this, or does not do this for the sake of their own honour, then they are not living in an honourable way. Honour is thus a hard, and simple, standard to live by, and those who are honourable thus possess a strong personal character and a purity of purpose. They are better, more noble, more civilized, more evolved individuals because of this

(Question: is it possible to choose life over death and keep honour? What if one chooses to die honourably yet leaves community and family in danger? Or similar situations – is it not better to live “dishonourably” whilst allowing family to survive and find honour? – Does this then give rise to the possibility of different levels of honour, loyalty and duty)

Honour and skill are not things which can be bought but can only be achieved by actions, discipline and hard work

First and foremost among the traits of any warrior is his honour. It is his singularly most precious possession... once lost or damaged, it can only be regained through rigorous trial or long-term atonement, and sometimes not even then. A warrior's honour is a beautiful, fragile, powerful, and often fleeting thing, and so it is the responsibility of the warrior to maintain it at all costs. The concept of a warrior's honour is difficult to put into words, especially for those who have never sought it or possessed it. It is a highly personal matter

The concept that honour transcends all barriers and is deserving of respect even when shown as a trait of enemies

There is a difference between personal honour and the honour shown to you by others

The concept that a warrior will always attempt to ensure that he does nothing to minimise the honour of an honourable opponent

Word of honour…. is always truth and promises always kept…this does not confine one to always telling the truth however once given…ones word is sacred and a matter of honour

Loyalty
Loyalty, like honour, is simple to understand, and simple in practice. Loyalty is being true to a person you have sworn to be loyal to. True loyalty means taking an oath of loyalty, an oath of allegiance, to a particular person and never breaking that oath. An oath of loyalty can only be ended in two ways: (i) by the death of the person to whom you have sworn to be loyal, and (ii) by mutual agreement between you and the person given loyalty.

Thus, true loyalty, like honour, sets a high personal standard, and requires personal discipline. Fundamentally, loyalty means Comradeship - true loyalty means being a Comrade to those you have sworn to be loyal to, and never letting those Comrades down. True loyalty means aiding and assisting those Comrades even when it is personally difficult to do so - or even if it might mean one's own death. True loyalty often means placing one own self - one's own opinions for instance - second, after the person to whom you have pledged your loyalty.

Duty
Duty is the obligation an individual has to do what is necessary and honourable. Thus, there is a duty to be loyal to those given loyalty. There is a duty to strive to live in an honourable way Neglect of one's duty is a dishonourable act, and the sign of a weak personal character. Self-discipline and a natural idealism

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