Self-Respect and the Sense of Shame

Arabian Wisdom, by John Wortabet, [1913], at sacred-texts.com

Self-Respect, and the Sense of Shame

Son of man, if you have no self-respect, do what you will.

Men see no fault in one who respects himself.

If you fear not the consequences of an evil life, and have no sense of shame, you are free to do what you will.

No, by God, life has no worth, and this world has no happiness to a man who has lost his self-respect and abandons himself to shamelessness.

p. 21

There is no good in a man who is not ashamed of men.

He who has a brazen face has a craven heart.

To be ashamed before God is to obey His commandments and to avoid what He has forbidden; to be ashamed before men is to avoid all harm to them; and to be ashamed before one's self is to be chaste and clean when one is alone.

Be ashamed in your own sight more than in the sight of men.

He who does a thing in secret of which he would be ashamed if done openly, has no respect for himself.

He who respects not himself can have no respect for others.

I shall not kiss a hand which deserves to be cut off.