Value your honot as you value your life. Poverty with honor is preferable to wealth with dishonor

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Part of Code of ethics submitted to the president of the Philippines

Title: Value your honot as you value your life. Poverty with honor is preferable to wealth with dishonor
Language: English
Source: Code of Ethics submitted to the President of the Philippines
Year: 1940
Rights
Fulltext: ' remain faithful to the memory of hi'• mothe1· all his life; and that little' Anita del rna1· should .•give up the presents so dear to her childish heart so that her father could · have the necessities of life : all these show th~t each and everyone of them, in his or her own individual man~er, loved and respected their parents. We can do no less, con'3idei-ing the sacrifices that our parents have n:iade in our behalf. Many are the ·ways in which we could serve them and show our gratitude. By respeating our eiders and by loving and ·helping our brothers and sisters, we reflect honor and credit to our parents. There are a thousand and one little things which we could do to gladden the hearts of our parents and brighten the remaining · years of their old age. · VII VALUE YOUR HONOR AS YOU VAL·UE YOUR LIFE. POVERTY WITH HONOR IS PREFERA'BLE TO WEALTH WITH DISHONOR. Honor is what prompts a man to strive fqr all that is noble, true, , and lofty, in word and in deed. It inspires a man to be ' pure in thought, faithful to his duties, magnanimous to those who offend him, and generous to his friends. It makers ·a man courteous, loyal and true. It never falters when duty calls. In the words of Emilio Jacinto, "The real man is he who, of tried and trusty valor, does good, keeps his word, a.nd' is worthy and self-respecting." This concept, as he embodied in the fifth, sixth, and thirteentl1 precepts of the Katipunan P1·imer, i•s expressed by him as follows: _ "He whose sentiments are noble prefers honor to personal aggrandizement; he whose sentiments are perverse prefers personal desires to honor. "To a man of honor, his word i1 s his oath. Great and noble is he who al-, though born in the woods with no knowledge except that of his own native tongue, . is pos~essed of good character, is true to his word and mindful of his dignity and honor; a man who does not oppress nor help those who opwess ; a man who loves and looks after the welfare of his country." Rafael Palma showed a ·high concept .of honor which transcended his honest and Joyal service to his people in positions of high trust · and major responsibility as the collaborator of Manuel L. Quezon and Sergio . Osmefia in wresting greater Filipino control and participation in the Philippine Government during the ea1'ly years of the America,.n regime. After retiring from political life as Senator and Secretary of the Inte1·ior, he engaged in private business which 'unfortunately failed , and left him in debt. He could have evaded responsibiJ.ity by having himself dec'lared insolvent by judicial decree, but with 1 scrupulous i·egard for his plighted word he undertook to pay his obligations little by little . from his subsequent earnings as publicist and President of the University of the Philippines. He died a poor man, but his honor he maintained unsullied to the end of his life. Manuel · Araullo, former Chief Justice of our Supreme Court, was 'a paragon of int~grity. This was manifested not only in the way he dispensed justice on the bench without fear or favor, but in his private· life a·s well. He considered it a· point of honor to pay not only his debts, but also those of his family. When he went to Spain to get his degree of doctor of laws, he left his brother to administer the estate left by their deceased father. Inefficient management · sunk the estate in debt and although upon his return he devoted his energies in helping his brother salvage what remained of the estate, a large account incurred by his brother in its administration was left pending for many years. In order to preserve the good name of his family, he did not hesitate to assume the obligation or paying the debt of the estate little by , little. This involved him in extreme .difficultie's but he kept his promise to pay. Honor is closely associated with ~irtue and finds its most sublime exprnssion in def~nse of the purity of womanhood. Said Marcelo H. del Pilar: " ... Wherever the women are virtuous, there vice is timid and dignity predominates-' hi the custom~ of .the people, but where the women are frivolous, thern the men bear the stamp of immorality, and .neg1ect or · contempt of the most .sacred duties are -the current thing.'" ' Incensed at isolated instances of the violation of Fil~ino women. during the Revolution, Mabini apostrophized: "How are we to succeed in making foreigners respect our women if we ourselve•s give them example by offending against them? Can we, Filipino men, possibly aspire to be respectable if our women are not respected·? In the traditional , nobility of the ancient nations, respect for women is conspicuous as the principal virTHE LOCAL GOVERNMENT REVIEW SUPPLEMENT PAGE 11 tue of the fearless and faultless knight, becau'Se the habit of protecting the hono1· and life of the weak and defenseless is certainly an indication of big-heartedness and nobility of soul. And let it be remembered t,\Iat this virtue is not a simple necessity of the legendary era of romanticism, but one of the great necessities of the life of nations, becau•se if the woman finds simple i·espect and consideration within the sphere in which she habitually moves, she soon acquires that sense of dignity that saves her from many a weakness, which dignity, transmitted to her children, inspires · them with courage and vigor for great undertakings, for acts of heroism .. " Rizal knew that honor is nurtured by the virtue of womanh0od and he minced no words in impressing his countrymen with this idea in his letter to the young women of Malolos. He said: "A peop.Je that res,pects woman, like the Filipino people, must know the truth of the situation in order to be able to do what is expected of it. It seem'S an established fact that when a young student falls in love, he throws everything to the dogsknowledge, honor, and money, as if a girl could not do anything but sow misfortune. The bravest youth becomes a coward when he man·ies, and the born coward becomes shameles'S, as if he had been waiting to get married to show his cowardice. The son in order to hide his pusillanimity, remembers his mother, swallows his wrath, suffers his ears to be boxed, obeys' the mo'St foolish order, and becomes an accomplice to his own dishonor. It should be remembered that where nobody' flees, there is no pursuer; when there is no little fish, there cannot be a big one. Why does not a girl require of her lover a noble and honored name, a manly heart offering protection to her weakness, and a high spirit incapable of seeing her 'Satisfied with engendering slaves? Let her discard all feu, let her behave noblv and not deliver her youth to the weak and faint-hearted. 'When she is married, she must aid her husban~, iTispire him with courage, share his perils, refrain from causing him worry and sweeten his moments of affliction, always remembering that there is no grief that a brave heart cannot bear and there is· no bitterer inheritance than that of infamy and 'Slavery. Open your children's eyes so that tthey may jealously guard their honor, love their fellow-men and their native land, and do their duty. Always imp1·ess upon them that they must prefer dying with honor to living in dishonor. The women of Sparta should serve as· an example in this. In the nobility and chivalry of Rizal, Jacinto, Del Pilar and Mabini, \Ye learn that honor is .as valuable, if not more so, than life itself. And in the · sterling integrity of Palma and Araullo, the lesson i'S brought home to us with telling force that to be poor but honorable is a thousand times better than amassing all the riches in the world at the cost of one's good name. We should strive, therefore, to keep our reputation unblemished to the end of our days, and ever bear in mind that an honore<! name is the most precious legacy which we can leave to our children and our children's children. "A good name is rather to be desired than great riches and loving· favor than silver and gold." VIII. BE TRUTHFUL AND HONEST IN THOUGHT AND ACTION. BE JUST AND CHARITABLE, COURTEOUS BUT DIGNIFIED, IN Y 0 UR · DEALINGS WITH YOUR FELLOW-MEN. Character is life dominated by principles. Truthfulness, honesty, charity, justice and courtesy are the · qualities that round up a real man or woman. These are the virtue~ that giv,e force and worth to the race. Be truthful.-We should not only tell the truth but we should al•so welcome it. Only by knowing the truth are we able to correct our defects and shortcomings. Rizal realized this in his dedication of his Nole Me Tangere: "TO MY COUNTRY: Recorded in :he history of human sufferings is a cancer of so malignant a character. that the least contact arouses in it the most acute pains. Now then, every time, in the midst of modern civilization, I have wished to evoke thee, now to keep me compapy with thy memories, now to compare thee with other .countrie'S, so often did thy dear image appear to me with a similar social cancer. "Desiring thy welfare, which is our own, and seeking the best treatment, I shall do with thee what the ancients did with their · patients: they exposed them on the steps of the temple 'So that every one who should come to invoke the Deity might suggest them a remedy. "And to this end, I shall attempt to reproduce faithfully thy condition, without considerations; I shall lift a part of the veil that cloaks the evil, sacrificing to tryth everything, nay self-esteem itself, since, PAGE 12 THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT REVIEW SUPPLEMENT
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