A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches

“A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches” is one of the biblical texts that comes to Krause as he faces a decision about breaking radio silence. In this moment, the maxim does not counsel him to preserve his standing for its own sake: he insists that his good name, like his life, is at his country’s service, and that his attention belongs to the convoy and the war.

The Maxim in Context

Krause is considering whether to call for help. He explicitly tries to set aside the effect his decision might have on how Washington and London judge him, including the fear that he could be regarded as an officer who asked for assistance without sufficient justification. The maxim appears within that effort to distinguish duty from self-protection: reputation matters, but it is not a private possession to guard at the convoy’s expense.

Its force depends on the thoughts surrounding it. Krause also recalls that promotion does not determine his worth and that there is no discharge from the war. These scriptural phrases reinforce his attempt to measure the choice by service rather than advancement. He cannot simply ignore them; they rise in his mind as he tries to think through the decision.

Self-Examination and Ambiguity

The maxim does not resolve the practical question. Krause asks himself whether his inclination to call for help comes from personal weakness or an unconscious wish to escape responsibility. He then tests the opposite possibility: perhaps he is resisting radio silence because he fears damage to his career. After a short, severe examination, he gives himself a grudging passing grade and rejects both accusations, but his self-assessment does not remove the decision’s uncertainty.

The remembered words “Fitted and retained” make that uncertainty personal. Their painful association with Evelyn could distort his judgment, yet Krause refuses to let them decide the matter. In this context, the maxim’s distinction between a good name and material gain broadens into a test of motive: neither the wish for approval nor resentment over past judgment is to govern what he does for the convoy.

Narrative Role

The expression is part of the narrative’s account of command as inward discipline. Krause’s duty is not presented as freedom from concern about reputation; rather, he must examine that concern and keep it subordinate to the lives and task entrusted to him. The maxim gives his reasoning a moral vocabulary, while his competing suspicions show how difficult it is to know whether a choice is truly selfless.

The passage ends before the decision is disclosed. A voice-tube bell interrupts Krause as he springs to answer it, shifting his attention from his physical discomfort and the problem of radio silence to an immediate call. The maxim therefore frames a decision still pending: it clarifies the standard by which he means to judge himself, but does not reveal what action he will take.