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What is a good man?
What is good? Are you good? According to the Encarta dictionary, being good is Having or showing and upright virtuous character . But what is upright and virtuous ? Being a good man cannot be put into a definition. There can never be a way to put what a good man is into words and have that be the law. The Sumerians have a different way of thinking what a good man is than the Egyptians. And both the Sumerians and the Egyptians have a different view of good than western culture today.
The sumerians consider a good man as someone who honors those who are in a high social standing. The inhabitants would pay homage the god that ruled the city that they lived in. They would also honor the government by abiding the laws that they put down. They also believed that being good consisted of being a good fighter. They would also pay homage to anyone who was considered a great fighter. Another thing that the Sumerians considered good was the ability to accept people for who they were. This is shown in the story of Gilgamesh by the way that Gilgamesh accepted that there was another person that was as strong as he was when he fought Enkidu.
The Egyptians considered a good man to be someone who has not committed murder. In A Manual for the Dead, not committing murder is mentioned in a couple of different ways. The first way is that a good man has not committed murder and the other way is that a good man has not commanded to murder. Another thing that the Egyptians considered to make a man good is the fact that they never altered or stopped the water in the Nile. This is particularly important the Egyptians since the Nile was the main source for their water. Another thing that the Egyptian considered good was not inflicting pain on others. This is said in many different ways. One way that it was stated in A manual for the Dead was, I have not done evil things I have not inflicted pain I have not caused anyone to suffer This seems to be important to them.
The western culture considers many things to be good traits in a man, but all of them are circumstantial. Perception is also a large factor. For one person, not committing homicide would make that person a good man. For another person, not thinking a bad thought would make him a good man. What being good is based essentially on the catholic bible. One thing that makes a person good in western culture is not going to jail. If you go to jail, you were either caught doing something illegal or were wrongly convicted. Another thing that makes a man good is that he does not commit a felony.
A good man is some one who has an upright and virtuous character. For someone in Sumer being good could mean accepting someone for who they are. An Egyptian good man could be someone who does not alter the Nile. Being a good man in western culture could be someone who doesn t commit a felony. So, are you good? Is anyone actually good?