Few people can voluntarily decide to take an action that will lead to taking their own lives, because, as you know, we do not decide when to call it a day. But if we put the question bluntly, what should we choose - to live life with the awareness that we acted dishonestly or to act according to our conscience, maintaining honor, but die? The answer is to be found in fiction, which has a lot of examples of similar life situations.

When we're talking about about honor, I immediately remember the hero of the poem by A.S. Pushkin “Eugene Onegin” - Vladimir Lensky. The issue of honor was raised by the author when Onegin came to a name day, where a friend invited him, but the hero begins to be irritated by everything: the crowd of people (Pustyakovs, Skotinins, Buyanovs and others), Tatyana’s behavior, and so on. He blames the one who invited him to the celebration for all this. In retaliation, Evgeniy invites Lensky's fiancée Olga to a dance at an afternoon ball and flirts with her. Vladimir is unable to tolerate such an insult and challenges Evgeniy to a duel, which will end in the death of one of them. Vladimir Lensky dies in a duel; he was only eighteen years old. He died early, but defended his and Olga’s honor, not allowing anyone to doubt the purity and sincerity of his feelings towards the daughter of the Larin family. While Onegin has to live his life with a heavy burden - to be the killer of a friend.

In the poem “Mtsyri” by M.Yu. Lermontov main character also puts honor above life, but from a different perspective. As we begin to read the poem, we learn that as a child he was abandoned in a monastery by those who captivated him. The young man got used to captivity and seemed to have forgotten about the call of his father’s land. On the day of the solemn event, he disappeared, a three-day search led to nothing, and only after some time did strangers accidentally find the exhausted Mtsyri. When asked to eat and accept repentance, he refuses, because he does not repent, but on the contrary is proud that he lived in freedom, like his ancestors, that he entered into a duel with a leopard and won. Only one thing weighs on his soul - breaking the promise he made to himself - to be free and find his native lands. Physically he was free, but the prison remained in his heart, and he could not fulfill his vow. He decides to die, realizing that he cannot be a slave. Thus, Mtsyri chooses honor over life. For him, honor is to be a worthy mountaineer, and not a slave, to become part of nature, which accepted him, but which he could not accept.

Each of us is responsible for the chosen path, just as we ourselves give the answer to the question posed above. For myself, I decided that I always need to act in such a way that later I would not be ashamed to live with the awareness of my decisions. But you shouldn’t create situations in which the question of the value of life in relation to honor can be raised, because life is priceless and you need to do your best to fill it with harmony and kindness, part of which is an honest attitude towards others.

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Honor is nothing more than good opinion other people about us. Bernard Mandeville

Honor is external conscience, and conscience is internal honor. Arthur Schopenhauer

Shame and honor are like a dress: the more shabby they are, the more careless you treat them. Lucius Apuleius

One of the main definitions of the principle of honor is that no one should, through his actions, give anyone an advantage over himself. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

An indispensable condition of friendship is not to make or fulfill demands that are contrary to the spirit of honor. Marcus Tullius Cicero

For a commander and a soldier, the same works are difficult in different ways - they are easier for the commander, because he has greater honor for them. Marcus Tullius Cicero

Honor is conscience, but conscience is painfully sensitive. This is respect for oneself and for the dignity of one's own life, brought to the extreme degree of purity and to the greatest passion. Alfred-Victor de Vigny

My honor is my life; both grow from the same root. Take away my honor and my life will end. William Shakespeare

Is it proper for a king, if he is struck on the cheek, to offer the other? How can a king rule the kingdom if he allows himself to be dishonored? Ivan IV the Terrible

There is no doubt that people are naturally prone to hatred and envy and that education only enhances these qualities. For parents usually support virtue in their children only by measures calculated to their honor or envy. Benedict (Baruch) Spinoza

Without a deep moral feeling, a person can have neither love nor honor - nothing that makes a person a person. Vissarion Grigorievich Belinsky

The one who betrays love and who leaves the battle carries with him equal dishonor. Pierre Corneille

We should not envy the wealth of other people: they acquired it at a price that we cannot afford - they sacrificed peace, health, honor, and conscience for it. This is too expensive - the deal would only bring us losses. Jean de La Bruyère

Gain honor neither by vanity, nor by the beauty of clothes or horses, nor by adornment, but by courage and wisdom. Theophrastus

Never leave the path of duty and honor - this is the only thing from which we find happiness. Georges-Louis-Leclerc Buffon

Pious people abstain from unseemly acts out of fear; people of honor - out of contempt for this kind of behavior. Joseph Addison

Objectively, honor is the opinion of others about our value, and subjectively, our fear of this opinion. Arthur Schopenhauer

There is no one who does evil for its own sake, but everyone does it for profit, or pleasure, or honor, or the like. Francis Bacon

The opposite of honor is dishonor, or shame, which consists of the bad opinion and contempt of others. Bernard Mandeville

The honor of a person lies in the fact that, in relation to the satisfaction of his needs, he depends only on his hard work, on his behavior and on his mind. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

Under the influence of philistinism, everything changed. Knightly honor was replaced by accounting honesty, elegant morals - by decorous morals, politeness - by primness, pride - by touchiness. Alexander Ivanovich Herzen

When a guilty person admits his guilt, he saves the only thing worth saving: his honor. Victor-Marie Hugo

A beautifully spoken speech about wonderful deeds remains in the memory of those listening, to the honor and glory of those who performed these deeds. Plato

If the crowd sometimes judges worthy people fairly, then this is more to the honor of the crowd itself than to the happiness of such people. Marcus Tullius Cicero

People are afraid of poverty and obscurity; if both cannot be avoided without losing honor, they should be accepted. Confucius (Kun Tzu)

Must keep the secrets of your friends. He who does not keep a secret dishonors his conscience and disgraces his trust in himself. John of Damascus

Speaking of honor, speaking of truth, are you really honest and truthful? If not, then you will deceive an adult with your words, but you will not deceive a child; He will not listen to your words, but to your gaze, your spirit that possesses you. Vladimir Fedorovich Odoevsky

"Honor more valuable than life"(F. Schiller)

“Honor is conscience, but conscience is painfully sensitive. This is respect for oneself and for the dignity of one’s own life, brought to the extreme degree of purity and to the greatest passion.”

Alfred Victor de Vigny

Dictionary V.I. Dahl, defines honor and how "internal moral dignity man, valor, honesty, nobility of soul and clear conscience.”Like dignity, the concept of honor reveals a person’s attitude towards himself and the attitude towards him from society. However, unlike the concept of dignity, the moral value of an individual in the concept of honor is associated with a specific social status a person, the type of his activity and the moral merits recognized for him.

But is honor a fundamental and vital property of a person, or is it something inherently inherent? There is the concept of “dishonest”, which defines a person without principles, that is, not responsible for his actions and following contrary to general rules. But each person has his own moral norms and rules, which means that honor is inherent in all people without exception. As Anton Pavlovich Chekhov said: “We all know what a dishonorable act is, but we don’t know what honor is.”You can talk about honor, dignity and conscience based on your own worldviews and experiences, but the concept of honor remains unchanged. “Honor is the same for women and men, girls, married women, old men and women: “don’t deceive”, “don’t steal”, “don’t get drunk”; Only from such rules, which apply to all people, is a code of “honor” formed in the true sense of the word” -Nikolai Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky spoke. And if honor is inextricably linked with life, moreover, it is a component of existence, then can it be more valuable than life? Is it really possible to lose inner qualities just because of some “unworthy” act that will make life itself impossible? I think yes. Honor and life are two interconnected and inseparable concepts that complement each other. After all, the place of “habitat” of these properties is the individual. What do the words of Michel Montaigne confirm? : “The worth and dignity of a man lies in his heart and in his will; it is here that the basis of his true honor lies.”Honor is not more expensive than life, but not cheaper either. It outlines the boundaries of what you can allow yourself and what kind of attitude you can tolerate from others. A synonym for this quality is conscience - the internal judge of the spiritual essence, its guide and beacon. And only everything together makes up a personality; everything depends on all-round development, because “... the principle of honor, although there is something that distinguishes man from animals, but in itself it does not contain anything that could put man above animals”- Arthur Schopenhauer. Another understanding of honor correlates with the current definition of reputation. This is how a person shows himself to other people in communication and business. In this case, it is important not to “lose your dignity” in the eyes of other people, because few people will want to communicate with a rude person, do business with an unreliable person, or help a heartless miser in need. In general, the concepts of honor and conscience are very conditional, very subjective. They depend on the value system adopted in any country, in any circle. IN different countries, y different people conscience and honor have completely different interpretations and meanings. It is worth listening to the opinion of the famous British novelist George Bernard Shaw: “It’s better to try to be clean and bright: you are the window through which you look at the world.”conscience is dignity reputation

Honor and conscience are one of the most important characteristics of the human soul. Compliance with the rules of honor gives a person peace of mind and live in accordance with your conscience. But no matter what, nothing should be more expensive than life, because life is the most precious thing a person has. And to take a life just because of any prejudices or principles is terrible and irreparable. Educating yourself with moral principles will help you avoid making an irreversible mistake. We must try to live in harmony with nature, society and ourselves.

Value human life undeniable. Most of us agree that life is an amazing gift, because everything that is dear and close to us, we learned once we were born into this world... Reflecting on this, you involuntarily wonder if there is at least something more valuable than life?

To answer this question, you need to look into your heart. There, many of us will find something for which we can accept death without a second thought. Someone will give their life to save their loved one. Some are ready to die heroically fighting for their country. And someone, faced with a choice: to live without honor or to die with honor, will choose the latter.

Yes, I think that honor can be more valuable than life. Despite the fact that there are quite a lot of definitions of the word “honor,” they all agree on one thing. A man of honor has the best moral qualities, which are always highly valued in society: self-esteem, honesty, kindness, truthfulness, decency. For a person who values ​​his reputation and good name, loss of honor is worse than death.

This point of view was close to A.S. Pushkin. In his novel, the writer shows that the ability to preserve one’s honor is the main moral criterion of an individual. Alexei Shvabrin, to whom life is more valuable than noble and officer honor, easily becomes a traitor, going over to the side of the rebel Pugachev. And Pyotr Grinev is ready to die with honor, but not to refuse the oath to the Empress. For Pushkin himself, protecting his wife’s honor also turned out to be more important than life. Having received a mortal wound in a duel with Dantes, Alexander Sergeevich washed away the dishonest slander from his family with his blood.

A century later, M.A. Sholokhov in his story will create the image of a real Russian warrior - Andrei Sokolov. This simple Soviet driver will face many trials at the front, but the hero always remains true to himself and his code of honor. Sokolov’s steely character is especially evident in the scene with Muller. When Andrei refuses to drink German weapons to the victory, he realizes that he will be shot. But the loss of honor of a Russian soldier frightens a man more than death. Sokolov's fortitude commands respect even from his enemy, so Muller abandons the idea of ​​killing the fearless captive.

Why are people, for whom the concept of “honor” is not an empty phrase, ready to die for it? They probably understand that human life is not only an amazing gift, but also a gift that is given to us for a short time. Therefore, it is so important to manage our lives in such a way that subsequent generations will remember us with respect and gratitude.

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Honor is more valuable than life

In childhood and youth, did we really think about the meaning of the words “honest”, “honest”? More likely no than yes. More often we said the phrase “it’s not fair” if one of our peers acted badly towards us. This is where our relationship with the meaning of this word ended. But life more and more often reminds us that there are people who “have honor”, ​​and there are those who are ready to sell their homeland to save their own skin. Where is the line that turns a person into a slave of his flesh and destroys the person in him? Why doesn’t that bell ring that the expert on all the dark corners wrote about? human soul Anton Pavlovich Chekhov? I ask myself these and other questions, among which one is still the main one: is honor really more valuable than life? To answer this question, I turn to literary works, because, according to academician D.S. Likhachev, literature is the main textbook of life, it (literature) helps us understand the characters of people, reveals eras, and on its pages we will find a great many examples of the ups and downs of human life. There I can find the answer to my main question.

I associate the fall and, what is even worse, betrayal with the Fisherman, the hero of V. Bykov’s story “Sotnikov.” Why strong man who initially made only a positive impression, became a traitor? And Sotnikov... I had a strange impression of this hero: for some reason he irritated me, and the reason for this feeling was not his illness, but the fact that he constantly created problems while performing an important task. I openly admired the fisherman: what a resourceful, decisive and courageous person! I don't think he was trying to impress. And who is Sotnikov for him to go out of his way for him?! No. He was just a man and did human actions until his life was in danger. But as soon as he tasted fear, it was as if he had been replaced: the instinct of self-preservation killed the man in him, and he sold his soul, and with it his honor. The betrayal of his homeland, the murder of Sotnikov, and an animal existence turned out to be more valuable to him than honor.

Analyzing Rybak’s action, I cannot help but ask myself the question: does it always happen that a person acts dishonorably if his life is in danger? Can he commit a dishonorable act for the benefit of another? And again I turn to literary work, this time to E. Zamyatin’s story “The Cave” about besieged Leningrad, where in a grotesque form the author talks about the survival of people in an ice cave, gradually driven into its smallest corner, where the center of the universe is a rusty and red-haired god, a cast-iron stove, which first consumed firewood, then furniture, then... books. In one such corner, the heart of one person is torn with grief: Masha is dying, already for a long time Martin Martinich’s beloved wife, who never got out of bed. This will happenTomorrow , and today she really wantsTomorrow , on her birthday, it was hot, and then she might be able to get out of bed. Warmth and a piece of bread became a symbol of life for cavemen. But there is neither one nor the other. But the neighbors on the floor below, the Obertyshevs, have them. They have everything, having lost their conscience and turned into females, into wraps.

…What won’t you do for your beloved wife?! Intelligent Martin Martinych goes to bow to non-humans: therezhor Andheat , but the soul does not live there. And Martin Martinych, having received (kindly, with sympathy) a refusal, decides to take a desperate step: he steals firewood for Masha.Tomorrow and everything will be! God will dance, Masha will stand up, letters will be read - things that were impossible to burn. And he will... drink poison, because Martin Martinych will not be able to live with this sin. Why does this happen? The strong and courageous Rybak, who killed Sotnikov and betrayed his homeland, remained to live and serve the policemen, and the intelligent Martin Martinych, who, living in someone else’s apartment, did not dare to touch someone else’s furniture in order to survive, but was able to step over himself in order to save a person dear to him , dies.

Everything comes from a person and is focused on a person, and the main thing in him is a soul that is pure, honest and open to compassion and help. I can’t help but turn to one more example, because this hero of the story “Bread for the Dog” by V. Tendryakov is still a child. A ten-year-old boy, Tenkov, secretly from his parents fed the “kurkuls” - his enemies. Did the child risk his life? Yes, because he fed the enemies of the people. But his conscience did not allow him to eat calmly and in abundance what his mother put on the table. So the boy’s soul suffers. A little later hero with his childish heart he will understand that a person can help a person, but who, in a terrible time of hunger, when people are dying on the road, will give bread for a dog. “Nobody,” logic dictates. “I,” the child’s soul understands. From people like this hero come the Sotnikovs, Vaskovs, Iskras and other heroes for whom honor is more valuable than life.

I have given only a few examples from the world of literature, proving that conscience has always, at all times, been and will be honored. It is this quality that will not allow a person to commit an act the price of which is loss of honor. Such heroes, in whose hearts there lives honesty, nobility, in works and in real life, fortunately, a lot.