Honour

This refers to a quality worthy of respect, esteem or praise for its own sake and not for its utilitarian or pleasurable result. It also refers to the response paid to such a quality in someone else and the cultivation of a sense of when such a response is due. When associated with gallantry and behaviour in armed combat it has come to be associated with codes of chivalry and, derived from the knightly virtues, the correct behaviour of a gentleman. To the Japanese, honour implies "glory of the name"; honour involves respect for the family name and thus for the family or clan, shame to one's self implies loss of honour to ancestors and descendants, upholding one's name is related to the upholding of personal honour. In religious terms, honour has been considered, with fear, as a component of reverence - honour should be paid to God and, by reflection, to all that is placed in a position of honour by God; the corollary is the implied dignity of God's creatures rather than that of the roles they play. The desire for honour may motivate virtuous conduct and thus assist in human development, with the proviso that hypocrisy is avoided.