The skilful employer of men will employ the wise man, the brave man, the covetous man, and the stupid man.
—Sun Tzu (fl. c.544–496 BCE) Chinese General, Military Theorist
We do not live an equal life, but one of contrasts and patchwork; now a little joy, then a sorrow, now a sin, then a generous or brave action.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Fortune and love favor the brave.
—Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso) (c.43 BCE–c.18 CE) Roman Poet
We could never learn to be brave and patient, if there were only joy in the world.
—Helen Keller (1880–1968) American Author
Bravery never goes out of style.
—William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–63) English Novelist
Ideas must work through the brains and the arms of good and brave men, or they are no better than dreams.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
God himself favors the brave.
—Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso) (c.43 BCE–c.18 CE) Roman Poet
The brave find a home in every land.
—Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso) (c.43 BCE–c.18 CE) Roman Poet
The brave man, indeed, calls himself lord of the land, through his iron, through his blood.
—Ernst Moritz Arndt (1769–1860) German Poet, Patriot
Bravery is being the only one who knows you’re afraid.
—Franklin P. Jones
I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. ‘Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.
—Thomas Paine (1737–1809) American Nationalist, Author, Pamphleteer, Radical, Inventor
We believe faith and freedom must be our guiding stars, for they show us truth, they make us brave, give us hope, and leave us wiser than we were.
—Ronald Reagan (1911–2004) American Head of State
There’s a brave fellow! There’s a man of pluck! A man who’s not afraid to say his say, Though a whole town’s against him.
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–82) American Poet, Educator, Academic
A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian Hindu Political leader
The brave love mercy, and delight to save.
—John Gay (1685–1732) English Poet, Dramatist
Girls are like apples…the best ones are at the top of the trees. The boys don’t want to reach for the good ones because they are afraid of falling and getting hurt. Instead, they just get the rotten apples that are on the ground that aren’t as good, but easy. So the apples at the top think there is something wrong with them, when, in reality, they are amazing. They just have to wait for the right boy to come along, the one who’s brave enough to climb all the way to the top of the tree…
—Unknown
Tell a man he is brave, and you help him to become so.
—Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish Historian, Essayist
No man can be brave who thinks pain the greatest evil; nor temperate, who considers pleasure the highest god.
—Cicero (106BCE–43BCE) Roman Philosopher, Orator, Politician, Lawyer
Brave men are all vertebrates; they have their softness on the surface and their toughness in the middle.
—G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) English Journalist, Novelist, Essayist, Poet
The truly brave, When they behold the brave oppressed with odds, Are touched with a desire to shield and save:—A mixture of wild beasts and demi-gods Are they—now furious as the sweeping wave, Now moved with pity; even as sometimes nods The rugged tree unto the summer wind, Compassion breathes along the savage mind.
—Lord Byron (George Gordon Byron) (1788–1824) English Romantic Poet
How well Horatius kept the bridge In the brave days of old.
—Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay (1800–59) English Historian, Essayist, Philanthropist
Toil for the brave! The brave that are no more.
—William Cowper (1731–1800) English Anglican Poet, Hymn writer
Bravery is the capacity to perform properly even when scared half to death.
—Omar Bradley (1893–1981) American Military Leader
A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is braver five minutes longer.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
He who is brave is free.
—Seneca the Younger (Lucius Annaeus Seneca) (c.4 BCE–65 CE) Roman Stoic Philosopher, Statesman, Tragedian
It is easy to be brave from a safe distance.
—Aesop (620–564 BCE) Greek Fabulist
Brave men were living before Agamemnon.
—Lord Byron (George Gordon Byron) (1788–1824) English Romantic Poet
True bravery is shown by performing without witness what one might be capable of doing before all the world.
—Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613–80) French Writer
Brave men are brave from the very first.
—Pierre Corneille (1606–84) French Poet, Dramatist
And old rat is a brave rat.
—French Proverb