The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-07-10
w otnap's World.

difference in what is cOnnoted 10y the t~ o
expressions, "a mans honor ana "a
woman's honor" Honor in a man includes
SO many things, a sense Of obligation oil
duty. scorn OF what is base, a lofty mag
nanimity. an utter inability 10 take am
unfair advantage even OF an enemy, IN
eullied truth ana lofuness of soul. The
honor of a woman means simply her viz
tie, her regard for the obligations of
chastity. In other words, as The two eN-
presslons are usually employed, the first
relates to what IS ethical and spiritual
ana the latter solely to what is physical
Very much the same distinction as this
says Reppard Tyke IN the New York
Commercial is found in the esoteric mean
ing of The words gentleman and lady
when these are employed in any other
than strictly social sense. A gentle
man" must necessarily be possessed of all
those finer attributes which go TO make a
hlgh-mnded and honorable man. A
'Iady," on the other hand, is simply at
the most woman of gentle birth, of con-
ventionaIly accepted training and unim-
peachable refinement. A man who be
Trays friend, who tells malicious lies who
requires even an act OF meanness with an
other act of meanness, cannot possibly be
regarded as a gentleman" but sinks at
once to the condition of cad. Yet wo-
man may do all these things and sun be
viewed by every one as being none the less
a lady" In other words. 10 say that
man is a gentleman" means everything.
TO say that woman Is lady" means
next to nothing. Therefore, If one wishes
TO imply that a woman has all the attri-
butes which inspire trust and confidence
and perfect faith, it cannot positively be
done by any positive form of description,
but negatively by saying Of her that she
is not a cad.
The question that at once suggests itself
is whether, of any woman whatever, ii
can be truthfully and absolutely stated
that she is not in this sense a cad2 Does
there exist a woman possessed of all the
finer qualities that nave been described
above as belonging to the highest type OF
man? Woman has so many virtues of
her own that il is not necessarily the mark
of a misogynist to take a sceptical view of
her claim to those qualities which charac-
terize one who has a highly developed
sense of nonor Woman is more patient
than man. She has perhaps the capacity
for deeper and more enduring affection;
she can be far more self-sacrifcng in par
ticular instances; her nature is in many
ways much finer, more sensitive, and more
spiritual But when ii comes to a question
of confidence, can there be found an her
the same self-detachment and perfect
fairness that are commonly the character
istics of very many men? This question
cannot be answered in the affirmative
simply on the basis of a long string of in
stances that might be cited to show how
often women have been intensely faithful
to a trust confided TO them; how they have
often suffered in silence rather than be
tray a confidence; how again and again
they cast aside all thought of self-interest
for the sake Of othersi how in given cir
cunnstances they have often shown them
selves to be discreet high-minded. loyal,
and sincere woman may be all this
and still be far from jusdfyng us in say
irg that she really has a sense of honor.
The reason for this statement will be
plain to any one who gives the matter
little serious thought. A sense OF honor,
in the fun meaning of that word, is per
manent attribute. A person who has 81 is
not honorable to-day and dishonorable
tomorrow, but honorable in small things
and dishonorable in great ones. nor hon
orable under one set of circumstances and
dishonorable under an entirely different
set The obligation of honor is always
the same and is always present in the
mind of its ossessOr-yesterday, to-day
and forever; and the honor of a man is
just this sort. 1t is based upon certain
fixed attitude toward life that can be
counted on at all times and under all con-
ditlons; while a woman's sense of honor
will be found TO be a shifting and uneer-
tain thing dependent not upon a consis-
tent and unchangng attitude, but rather
upon her own personal relation to the sit
uation which demands its exercise. This
q n he a
everything is viewed from an intensely
personal point of view. A thing is. with
her not fair or unfair in the abstract,
not just unjust i'm the abstract not
even right wrong in the abstract. but
che deems it a vice or virtue according
TO its relation to her interests and more
especially to her feelings Therefore, she
can at one moment be perfectly fair in
whatever is indifferent to her, and again.
under the same general circumstances,
grossly unfair as soon as the matter be-
comes personally important to
her All these statements or
truisms, and everybody knows
them to be absolutely correct; yet they
are lost sight of by those persons who
have professed TO detect in woman the
same general standards of conduct that
prevail among men. Examination will
show that the self-sacrihce and the 10y
atty and the fidelity of women, when
these are especially conspicuous, are in
variably connected in some way with
her feelings ana emotions. She would
make any sacrifice, for instance for a
man whom she loves, and on the other
hand she would shrink from no injustic,
toward one who had crossed her as q
rival A woman will often refrain from
interfering with another womans peace
OF mind If the other woman is her friend
but this is most usually true when tn,
man in the case does not happen to inter
a.