Theodore E. Keats, MD

"My honor is dearer to me than my life." --Cervantes

"Medicine is an honorable profession." "He or she is an honorable person." What do these kinds of expressions actually mean? They slip easily from the tongue, but what qualifies a profession or person to earn this description? If medicine is indeed an honorable profession it must be composed of honorable individuals. I seem to sense "honor" in some people and the lack of it in others, but I am often at a loss to know what it is I'm sensing. Mencken states, "The differences between a moral man and man of honor is that the latter regrets a discreditable act, even when it has worked out and he has not been caught." I don't think that quite defines it. How about upright, honest, fair, faithful, loyal, trustworthy, incorruptible, respectful, chivalrous, constant. I believe it's all of these things that you can appreciate in your dealings with honorable people.

In my own interactions with social and professional acquaintances, I am impressed by how quickly one can discern these qualities in other individuals and how secure I feel in relating to them. I think that honor is probably innate rather than cultivated, for surely they are characteristics that have been instilled by parents and family early in life, unrelated to socio-economic background. I do believe that honorable people like themselves better than those without it. It generates self respect.

Mencius summed it up nicely:

"All men have in themselves that which is truly honorable. Only they do not think of it."