“Dignity is discipline,
carried without explanation.”
Prototype Language
World Languages
Cultural Languages
Nordic Languages
Northeastern Languages
Balkan / Oriental Languages
Languages Neighboring German
Non-European Cultural Languages
At last we learn
to discern, everywhere,
how community
arises from the circle,
orders us,
yet leaves each person
with a measured inheritance
kept within:
dignity.
Dignity
People recognize one another
by the dignity they accord each other.
It shows itself
in the observance of boundaries,
and in the resolve to keep them.
Across time and distance,
it endures,
without fading.
Yet people know
the troubling thought
of not being worthy enough.
When parting draws near,
it becomes evident
how weighty dignity is —
more than possession,
more than influence.
It extends
beyond a single life.
Dignity deepens
through a life lived,
through what a person has borne —
unless they are broken.
Through hardship,
through humiliation,
until memory erodes
who one once was.
Love exists everywhere.
Only when it is held in command
does suffering lose its force.
Then dignity
may become visible again.
