Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1870-06-09


be dishonored by another that acivil-
lied mind sees the exquisite absurdity
Of what was called the code of honor.
1t put the best men at the mercy of
the worst. Here, for instance, was a
hulking bully and dead shot, who took
dislike to some man infinitely his
superior. He met him at table, and
threw glass of wine in his face, or
he spat at him, or he pulled his nose,
and it was straightway held that the
honor OF the assaulted man had been
injured, and could only be repaired by
giving the bully chance to murder
him and ruin his family. Nothing more
this silly theory ofhonor that 80 lon9
perplexed, and, to a certain de9DTes. 5D
still perplexes, civilization. This theo-
ry of honor said: .'Ii man pulls
your nose, he has mortally insulted
you, and nothing but blood can atone.
lilo T. for the field of honor !" Common
sense says: "lfa man pulls your nose,
he breaks the peace. Call policeman,
and-Ho . for the stationhou.e
Of course. if you don't choose to
call policeman, but instinctively do
your best to thrash the bully, nobody
will complain. But you are not dis
honored by him, even though he pull
ed your nose off, and when you tried
to punish him, doubled you up and
left you senseless in the gutter Could
a drunken bully, or sober bully, dis
honor Sir Isaac Newton BY pulling
his nose: Would Mr.. Bryant be dis
honored if somebody gave him the lie?
1t is by lying that he would be dis
honored, not by somebody's saying
that he lied. If, therefore, every man
be the guardian of his own honor, and
that honor can be touched only by
himself, it is idle to speak of some
body else as dishonoring him. Some
body else may exasperate. him-may
madden him, by exciting his jealousy,
as Iago maddened Othello-but some
body else can not dlshonor him and,
in such cases as we are considering
honor is always invoked, and the
injury to honor is elaborately alleged,
because it is universally telt that if
jealousy is to be allowed to shoot at
discretion, there will be a good deal
more shooting than society can safely
tolerate
All Intelligent people will agree
that the honor of the marriage tie
must, in reason be equal upon both
sides; but every body knows that it
Is not considered 50 in fact. Take anv
average jury that would acquit a hus-
band tor shooting a man who had
injured his honor" and it would
wink at the same husband iniuring
his wite's honor in precisely the same
way. These are subjects not to be
easily mentioned; but they are well
understood. and it is not for men. as
class. TO .ociierate too loudly about
matrimonial honor. Gibbon causti-
cally says OF the goddess who presided
over the peace of marriages Her
eplthet of Niriplaca. the appea.er Of
husbands. too clearly indicates on
which side submission and repentance
were always expected" And was the
oifense supposed to come usually from
the same side?
The honor of marriage is mutual.
Husband and wife are alike bound bv
it. But the detection of either dishon-
ors that one only, and not the other
The other may be sorely grieved and
humiliated-may be even excited
by passion TO what is called frenzy.
Bnt that is the possible effect OF all
strong excitement, and it is not chang
ed in character because it is called the
madness of outraged honor. 1t is
very possible that one man, under the
same circumstances would do what
another does. \ man of Othello's
temperament would be affected as
Othello was. But when public opinion
authorizes persons laboring under
strong excitement to shoot other peo-
pie, it is only necessary to establish
strong excitement to justify shooting.
EDrroR's EASY CHAIR, in Harper's
Magaztne for June.