Honorissimplythatpeculiarrule，foundeduponapeculiarstateofsociety，bytheapplicationofwhichapeopleoraclassallotpraiseorblame。Nothingismoreunproductivetothemindthananabstractidea;Ithereforehastentocallintheaidoffactsandexamplestoillustratemymeaning。
Iselectthemostextraordinarykindofhonorwhichwaseverknownintheworld，andthatwhichwearebestacquaintedwith，viz。，aristocratichonorspringingoutoffeudalsociety。I
shallexplainitbymeansoftheprinciplealreadylaiddown，andIshallexplaintheprinciplebymeansoftheillustration。IamnothereledtoinquirewhenandhowthearistocracyoftheMiddleAgescameintoexistence，whyitwassodeeplyseveredfromtheremainderofthenation，orwhatfoundedandconsolidateditspower。Itakeitsexistenceasanestablishedfact，andIamendeavoringtoaccountforthepeculiarviewwhichittookofthegreaterpartofhumanactions。Thefirstthingthatstrikesmeis，thatinthefeudalworldactionswerenotalwayspraisedorblamedwithreferencetotheirintrinsicworth，butthattheyweresometimesappreciatedexclusivelywithreferencetothepersonwhowastheactorortheobjectofthem，whichisrepugnanttothegeneralconscienceofmankind。Thussomeoftheactionswhichwereindifferentonthepartofamaninhumblelife，dishonoredanoble;otherschangedtheirwholecharacteraccordingasthepersonaggrievedbythembelongedordidnotbelongtothearistocracy。Whenthesedifferentnotionsfirstarose，thenobilityformedadistinctbodyamidstthepeople，whichitcommandedfromtheinaccessibleheightswhereitwasensconced。Tomaintainthispeculiarposition，whichconstituteditsstrength，itnotonlyrequiredpoliticalprivileges，butitrequiredastandardofrightandwrongforitsownespecialuse。Thatsomeparticularvirtueorvicebelongedtothenobilityratherthantothehumbleclasses—thatcertainactionswereguiltlesswhentheyaffectedthevillain，whichwerecriminalwhentheytouchedthenoble—thesewereoftenarbitrarymatters;butthathonororshameshouldbeattachedtoaman’sactionsaccordingtohiscondition，wasaresultoftheinternalconstitutionofanaristocraticcommunity。Thishasbeenactuallythecaseinallthecountrieswhichhavehadanaristocracy;aslongasatraceoftheprincipleremains，thesepeculiaritieswillstillexist;todebauchawomanofcolorscarcelyinjuresthereputationofanAmerican—tomarryherdishonorshim。
Insomecasesfeudalhonorenjoinedrevenge，andstigmatizedtheforgivenessofinsults;inothersitimperiouslycommandedmentoconquertheirownpassions，andimposedforgetfulnessofself。Itdidnotmakehumanityorkindnessitslaw，butitextolledgenerosity;itsetmorestoreonliberalitythanonbenevolence;itallowedmentoenrichthemselvesbygamblingorbywar，butnotbylabor;itpreferredgreatcrimestosmallearnings;cupiditywaslessdistastefultoitthanavarice;
violenceitoftensanctioned，butcunningandtreacheryitinvariablyreprobatedascontemptible。Thesefantasticalnotionsdidnotproceedexclusivelyfromthecapricesofthosewhoentertainedthem。Aclasswhichhassucceededinplacingitselfattheheadofandaboveallothers，andwhichmakesperpetualexertionstomaintainthisloftyposition，mustespeciallyhonorthosevirtueswhichareconspicuousfortheirdignityandsplendor，andwhichmaybeeasilycombinedwithprideandtheloveofpower。Suchmenwouldnothesitatetoinvertthenaturalorderoftheconscienceinordertogivethosevirtuesprecedencebeforeallothers。Itmayevenbeconceivedthatsomeofthemoreboldandbrilliantviceswouldreadilybesetabovethequiet，unpretendingvirtues。Theveryexistenceofsuchaclassinsocietyrendersthesethingsunavoidable。
ThenoblesoftheMiddleAgesplacedmilitarycourageforemostamongstvirtues，andinlieuofmanyofthem。Thiswasagainapeculiaropinionwhicharosenecessarilyfromthepeculiarityofthestateofsociety。Feudalaristocracyexistedbywarandforwar;itspowerhadbeenfoundedbyarms，andbyarmsthatpowerwasmaintained;itthereforerequirednothingmorethanmilitarycourage，andthatqualitywasnaturallyexaltedaboveallothers;whateverdenotedit，evenattheexpenseofreasonandhumanity，wasthereforeapprovedandfrequentlyenjoinedbythemannersofthetime。Suchwasthemainprinciple;thecapriceofmanwasonlytobetracedinminuterdetails。Thatamanshouldregardataponthecheekasanunbearableinsult，andshouldbeobligedtokillinsinglecombatthepersonwhostruckhimthuslightly，isanarbitraryrule;butthatanoblecouldnottranquillyreceiveaninsult，andwasdishonoredifheallowedhimselftotakeablowwithoutfighting，weredirectconsequencesofthefundamentalprinciplesandthewantsofmilitaryaristocracy。
Thusitwastruetoacertainextenttoassertthatthelawsofhonorwerecapricious;butthesecapricesofhonorwerealwaysconfinedwithincertainnecessarylimits。Thepeculiarrule，whichwascalledhonorbyourforefathers，issofarfrombeinganarbitrarylawinmyeyes，thatIwouldreadilyengagetoascribeitsmostincoherentandfantasticalinjunctionstoasmallnumberoffixedandinvariablewantsinherentinfeudalsociety。
IfIweretotracethenotionoffeudalhonorintothedomainofpolitics，Ishouldnotfinditmoredifficulttoexplainitsdictates。ThestateofsocietyandthepoliticalinstitutionsoftheMiddleAgesweresuch，thatthesupremepowerofthenationnevergovernedthecommunitydirectly。Thatpowerdidnotexistintheeyesofthepeople:everymanlookeduptoacertainindividualwhomhewasboundtoobey;bythatintermediatepersonagehewasconnectedwithalltheothers。
Thusinfeudalsocietythewholesystemofthecommonwealthresteduponthesentimentoffidelitytothepersonofthelord:
todestroythatsentimentwastoopenthesluicesofanarchy。
Fidelitytoapoliticalsuperiorwas，moreover，asentimentofwhichallthemembersofthearistocracyhadconstantopportunitiesofestimatingtheimportance;foreveryoneofthemwasavassalaswellasalord，andhadtocommandaswellastoobey。Toremainfaithfultothelord，tosacrificeone’sselfforhimifcalledupon，tosharehisgoodorevilfortunes，tostandbyhiminhisundertakingswhatevertheymightbe—suchwerethefirstinjunctionsoffeudalhonorinrelationtothepoliticalinstitutionsofthosetimes。Thetreacheryofavassalwasbrandedwithextraordinaryseveritybypublicopinion，andanameofpeculiarinfamywasinventedfortheoffencewhichwascalled"felony。"
Onthecontrary，fewtracesaretobefoundintheMiddleAgesofthepassionwhichconstitutedthelifeofthenationsofantiquity—Imeanpatriotism;theworditselfisnotofveryancientdateinthelanguage。*bFeudalinstitutionsconcealedthecountryatlargefrommen’ssight，andrenderedtheloveofitlessnecessary。Thenationwasforgotteninthepassionswhichattachedmentopersons。Henceitwasnopartofthestrictlawoffeudalhonortoremainfaithfultoone’scountry。
Notindeedthattheloveoftheircountrydidnotexistintheheartsofourforefathers;butitconstitutedadimandfeebleinstinct，whichhasgrownmoreclearandstronginproportionasaristocraticclasseshavebeenabolished，andthesupremepowerofthenationcentralized。ThismaybeclearlyseenfromthecontraryjudgmentswhichEuropeannationshavepasseduponthevariouseventsoftheirhistories，accordingtothegenerationsbywhichsuchjudgmentshavebeenformed。ThecircumstancewhichmostdishonoredtheConstabledeBourbonintheeyesofhiscontemporarieswasthatheborearmsagainsthisking:thatwhichmostdishonorshiminoureyes，isthathemadewaragainsthiscountry;webrandhimasdeeplyasourforefathersdid，butfordifferentreasons。
[Footnoteb:Eventheword"patrie"wasnotusedbytheFrenchwritersuntilthesixteenthcentury。]
Ihavechosenthehonoroffeudaltimesbywayofillustrationofmymeaning，becauseitscharacteristicsaremoredistinctlymarkedandmorefamiliartousthanthoseofanyotherperiod;butImighthavetakenanexampleelsewhere，andIshouldhavereachedthesameconclusionbyadifferentroad。AlthoughwearelessperfectlyacquaintedwiththeRomansthanwithourownancestors，yetweknowthatcertainpeculiarnotionsofgloryanddisgraceobtainedamongstthem，whichwerenotsolelyderivedfromthegeneralprinciplesofrightandwrong。Manyhumanactionswerejudgeddifferently，accordingastheyaffectedaRomancitizenorastranger，afreemanoraslave;certainviceswereblazonedabroad，certainvirtueswereextolledaboveallothers。"Inthatage，"saysPlutarchinthelifeofCoriolanus，"martialprowesswasmorehonoredandprizedinRomethanalltheothervirtues，insomuchthatitwascalledvirtus，thenameofvirtueitself，byapplyingthenameofthekindtothisparticularspecies;sothatvirtueinLatinwasasmuchastosayvalor。"Cananyonefailtorecognizethepeculiarwantofthatsingularcommunitywhichwasformedfortheconquestoftheworld？
Anynationwouldfurnishuswithsimilargroundsofobservation;for，asIhavealreadyremarked，whenevermencollecttogetherasadistinctcommunity，thenotionofhonorinstantlygrowsupamongstthem;thatistosay，asystemofopinionspeculiartothemselvesastowhatisblamableorcommendable;andthesepeculiarrulesalwaysoriginateinthespecialhabitsandspecialinterestsofthecommunity。Thisisapplicabletoacertainextenttodemocraticcommunitiesaswellastoothers，asweshallnowproceedtoprovebytheexampleoftheAmericans。*cSomeloosenotionsoftheoldaristocratichonorofEuropearestilltobefoundscatteredamongsttheopinionsoftheAmericans;butthesetraditionalopinionsarefewinnumber，theyhavebutlittlerootinthecountry，andbutlittlepower。Theyarelikeareligionwhichhasstillsometemplesleftstanding，thoughmenhaveceasedtobelieveinit。
Butamidstthesehalf—obliteratednotionsofexotichonor，somenewopinionshavesprungup，whichconstitutewhatmaybetermedinourdaysAmericanhonor。IhaveshownhowtheAmericansareconstantlydriventoengageincommerceandindustry。Theirorigin，theirsocialcondition，theirpoliticalinstitutions，andeventhespottheyinhabit，urgethemirresistiblyinthisdirection。Theirpresentconditionisthenthatofanalmostexclusivelymanufacturingandcommercialassociation，placedinthemidstofanewandboundlesscountry，whichtheirprincipalobjectistoexploreforpurposesofprofit。ThisisthecharacteristicwhichmostpeculiarlydistinguishestheAmericanpeoplefromallothersatthepresenttime。Allthosequietvirtueswhichtendtogivearegularmovementtothecommunity，andtoencouragebusiness，willthereforebeheldinpeculiarhonorbythatpeople，andtoneglectthosevirtueswillbetoincurpubliccontempt。Allthemoreturbulentvirtues，whichoftendazzle，butmorefrequentlydisturbsociety，willonthecontraryoccupyasubordinaterankintheestimationofthissamepeople:theymaybeneglectedwithoutforfeitingtheesteemofthecommunity—toacquirethemwould...完整阅读请扫描二维码下载丁香书院APP免费看：
第51章