Herman Melville on honor

Heaven have mercy on us all⁠—Presbyterians and Pagans alike⁠—for we are all dreadfully cracked about the head and desperately in need of mending.

Are there no Moravians in the Moon, that not a missionary has yet visited this poor pagan planet of ours, to civilize civilization and christianize Christendom?

Ah, happiness courts the light, so we deem the world is gay, but misery hides aloof, so we deem that misery there is none.

It is better to deserve honors and not have them than to have them and not deserve them.

Mark Twain1835–1910

The louder he talked of his honor, the faster we counted our spoons.

Ralph Waldo Emerson1803–1882The Conduct of Life (1860), Worship

If I lose mine honour, I lose myself.

William Shakespeare1564–1616Antony and Cleopatra (1600s), Act III, scene 4, line 22.In context