Don’t you just love what passes for honour among our betters? I refer to that group of people who believe they contribute so much more than the rest of us and annually vote each other salaries and bonuses the size of telephone numbers.
Last week I was rather taken by a comment arising out of the resignation of BP CEO Lord Browne after he acknowledged that he had lied to a High Court judge. Referring to the resignation, BP Chairman Peter Sutherland came up with a particular gem that I’ll remember. He said it was “a tragedy that [Browne] should be compelled by his sense of honour to resign in these painful circumstances.”
Show me the man you honour, and I will know what kind of man you are
Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881)
Lord Browne had asked the court to belive his version of events on the basis of his reputation and distinction and the various public honours he had received. In his finding, the judge deplored “his willingness casually to trash the reputation of [his former lover] and to discredit him in the eyes of the court”.
