Montaigne on Not Sharing Our Honor: A Masonic Reflection
Picture the scene: a lodge full of brethren, just after the close of a ritual. The Master of Ceremonies receives warm praise for the solemnity of the work. He bows slightly and says, ‘The honor belongs to the entire workshop.’ A graceful gesture — but it touches on a question Michel de Montaigne raised back in the sixteenth century: to whom does honor truly belong, and what happens when we carelessly distribute it among everyone who happened to be present? The Heart of the Essay: Honor as a Scarce Good In Essay 41 of the first book of his celebrated Essays, Montaigne examines a theme that seems modest at first glance but proves surprisingly sharp on closer reading. The title — ‘Of Not Communicating One’s Glory’ — carries a clear central argument: honor loses its value the moment it is spread too widely. Montaigne contends that it is unwise to distribute fame and recognition among many, because doing so hollows out its meaning. Honor everyone, and you ultimately honor no one. Montaigne sets this idea against the political and military backdrop of his era. Rulers and military commanders had a habit of sharing the glory of victory with advisors, subordinates, […]