What’s the trait you value most about yourself?
Easy. It’s honesty. Or at least I think it used to be honesty.
I hope everybody will get my soliloquy.
Not the most useful trait one can possess. But it’s the one people appreciate the most.
This reminds me of an anecdote that reached us courtesy of that great French sailor, Surcouf.
Robert Surcouf was a very famous, successful and lucky Saint-Malo born corsair, basically a licensed pirate, whose neck was protected by a lettre de marque issued by his government, that allowed him to prey on enemy’s shipping while putting him on the right side of the Law.
In 1807, Surcouf returned to the Indian Ocean to annoy and harass the British. Over the next two years, he captured 16 prizes. After one such cruise, a British merchant captain he captured told him:
“You French fight for money while we fight for honour.” Surcouf retorted “So each of us fights for what he lacks most.
Anonymous British merchant captain, cca. 1808
Same thing goes for me. I hope my most valuable trait is honesty. But who knows if that’s true.
Götterdämmerung 