And, if a person became indebted, it was a point of honor to repay the obligation when it fell due, by selling assets, reducing consumption, working harder, or some combination of the three. Indeed, it was often more than a point of honor: failure to repay debt on time landed the debtor in prison.
负债一直都跟挥霍无度或者不负责任联系在一起。如果一个人借了债，那么就必须在债务到期时通过变卖资产，减少消费或者努力工作等方式偿还，因为这事关个人荣誉。事实上这个问题往往会超出荣誉的范畴，因为无法偿还的负债者将被投入监狱。