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On The Word "Ehre" (Honour), And Its Derivatives,
several law had been approved , although some of these regulations were such as no prince in his senses would tolerate for pne moment . Here is a distinct case of fraud , yet the Craft was nevertheless fflirbar . In a trade sense it had done nothing which rendered it unworthy of a
craftsman ' s respect or esteem , fflirbarkeit is , therefore , not honesty as we understand it ; nor , in truth , does it etymolo . o'ically mean honesty in German , the proper word for which is fflirlichlceit ; but it signifies that quality which renders one fflirbar ; so that if the Thugs of India spoke German the operation of strangling an inoffensive passer-by
would , with them , constitute a claim on the possession of fflirbarheit , i . e . it would be conducive to being honoured . When we therefore find such questions and answers as the followin ° ' , if we bear the foregoing in mind , they will assume their correct form , and lose all traces of any esoteric meaning :
Q . Why do you travel ? A . To acquire instruction and honesty ( fflirbarheit ) . Q . What are instruction and honesty ?
A . Undertanding and wisdom . Q . What are understanding and wisdom ? A . Craft-usage and customs . The workman travels to acquire instruction in his trade and a reputation for conforming strictly to its rules ( fflirbarheit ) . The
former supplies him with a proper understanding of his handicraft , and he finds that true wisdom ( as a craftsman ) consists in possessing the latter ; for are not both of these craft usage and custom , without which he is incapable of earning his bread ? The German for instruction , as above , is Zucht ; this may also be translated " discipline . "
Substitute discipline for knowledge in the quotation just given , and the passage becomes even stronger and more indicative of the worst features of the Gild system , i . e ., the unsparing and vexatious exercise of a trades despotism . I think it is abundantly evident from the preceding , that although
we are constantly stumbling in these German documents across incitements to honour and honesty , we must not allow this to induce in us a belief that the German craftsman used these terms in the sense
that they now bear , or that he was an exceptionally virtuous and moral young man , although Fallou and his disciples have done their best to inspire us with this idea . Nor must we allow ourselves to attach any importance to the constantly recurring use of the title " Worshipful , " for , as a matter of fact , such a word or its equivalent never once
appears , fflirbar , is worthy ; Ehrsam , honourable ; fflirlicli , honest ; fflirbarheit , worth ; but all in a craftsman ' s own peculiar sense , and not in the abstract signification that these words now bear .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On The Word "Ehre" (Honour), And Its Derivatives,
several law had been approved , although some of these regulations were such as no prince in his senses would tolerate for pne moment . Here is a distinct case of fraud , yet the Craft was nevertheless fflirbar . In a trade sense it had done nothing which rendered it unworthy of a
craftsman ' s respect or esteem , fflirbarkeit is , therefore , not honesty as we understand it ; nor , in truth , does it etymolo . o'ically mean honesty in German , the proper word for which is fflirlichlceit ; but it signifies that quality which renders one fflirbar ; so that if the Thugs of India spoke German the operation of strangling an inoffensive passer-by
would , with them , constitute a claim on the possession of fflirbarheit , i . e . it would be conducive to being honoured . When we therefore find such questions and answers as the followin ° ' , if we bear the foregoing in mind , they will assume their correct form , and lose all traces of any esoteric meaning :
Q . Why do you travel ? A . To acquire instruction and honesty ( fflirbarheit ) . Q . What are instruction and honesty ?
A . Undertanding and wisdom . Q . What are understanding and wisdom ? A . Craft-usage and customs . The workman travels to acquire instruction in his trade and a reputation for conforming strictly to its rules ( fflirbarheit ) . The
former supplies him with a proper understanding of his handicraft , and he finds that true wisdom ( as a craftsman ) consists in possessing the latter ; for are not both of these craft usage and custom , without which he is incapable of earning his bread ? The German for instruction , as above , is Zucht ; this may also be translated " discipline . "
Substitute discipline for knowledge in the quotation just given , and the passage becomes even stronger and more indicative of the worst features of the Gild system , i . e ., the unsparing and vexatious exercise of a trades despotism . I think it is abundantly evident from the preceding , that although
we are constantly stumbling in these German documents across incitements to honour and honesty , we must not allow this to induce in us a belief that the German craftsman used these terms in the sense
that they now bear , or that he was an exceptionally virtuous and moral young man , although Fallou and his disciples have done their best to inspire us with this idea . Nor must we allow ourselves to attach any importance to the constantly recurring use of the title " Worshipful , " for , as a matter of fact , such a word or its equivalent never once
appears , fflirbar , is worthy ; Ehrsam , honourable ; fflirlicli , honest ; fflirbarheit , worth ; but all in a craftsman ' s own peculiar sense , and not in the abstract signification that these words now bear .