PRAISE TO THE DIGNITY

Dignity!
And here is a word that we do not meet in our daily conversations, and yet I believe that it is a forgotten virtue.
Speaking of virtue, I believe I have praised two of the seven (chastity, charity, temperance, diligence, patience, kindness and humility).

I propose to add one more, and so I hasten to praise dignity. To have dignity is to command respect. We are talking about a very dignified man. Who deserves respect. We say 'a worthy mother'. It is also said of a son that he is worthy of his father, it is the respect that something or someone deserves.

In philosophy, we talk about the dignity of the human person. This is the particular value that man's humanity represents and that deserves absolute respect. It is also said that he lacks dignity. To have dignity is to have pride. We are talking about an eminent function, a high distinction.  The ideal is to reach the highest dignity of the State.

Nowadays, philosophers, sociologists, psychologists and writers try to offer us strategies to give life to what they call "the era of dignity". They believe that the time has come to define ourselves, to have a voice and to work on our personal strengths in order to find greater satisfaction in our environments and to create relevant change in this increasingly unequal society.

Very simply, true human dignity is about simplicity and modesty. It is well said that peace and dignity are born the moment ambition and arrogance die.
I found this word of Tahar Ben Jelloun that I like: « Everyone has the
right to his dignity. By respecting a person, we pay homage, through
him, to life in all its beauty, its marvelousness, its difference, its
unexpectedness. We show respect for ourselves by treating others with
dignity. »

The other day, I witnessed a rather funny situation: An individual, inferior by his condition, showed dignity to a superior, encouraging him to show courtesy to him. I found this very comforting. It reminds me that the opposition of an adversary is reduced to nothing by the behavior of dignity that one opposes him.

What about friendship? It lasts when each friend respects the dignity of the other to the point of wanting nothing from him.

  It is at the death of a virtuous man, which is a misfortune without remedy for the whole of humanity, that one discovers the dignity of human nature and the feeling of one's own dignity.
I tend to draw a parallel between pride and dignity and I realize that when reason can no longer defend us, we ask pride to support us; pride is the dignity of those who have none.
However, dignity is not a question of pride. It is a precious good that we must not lose. Dignity is synonymous with self-esteem and self-respect. In this way we allow ourselves to look at the world with our heads held high.

Greatness is the most beautiful prerogative of the soul. And I wonder if it does not give a better idea of its dignity. And I add merit. I found a rather nice quote; ''One can give oneself airs, never dignity.'' I will even add that the quality of an honest man is in his dignity.''

And isn't pride in all this a strong support of moral dignity? Doesn't it come from self-respect?
Francis Bacon is the one who said that certainty is the first dignity of laws. That a great dignity is a great servitude.
How many people throughout history have collapsed in difficult conditions but kept their class and dignity.

I am not talking about opportunists without much dignity or pride, people who would sell their own kind to succeed, nor about that inner feminine beauty that came from the gentleness and dignity that made women so attractive.

And now, if we think about ourselves, when do we ever feel worthy? Do we remember that moment when we did a good deed, did we not feel a sense of satisfaction? If so, then we have been worthy.

Before I finish, I would like to add a wonderful word from Marguerite
Yourcenar: « Beyond pain and joy, there is dignity » However Pablo Neruda calls me to remember that love will always have a limit: dignity. Love is short and forgetfulness very long. But a long forgetfulness is preferable to a long storm in which we end up losing our dignity.
Be careful!
Dignity is that fragile and delicate thread that we often compromise, that can break and unravel the bonds of our emotional relationships.