Discretion is the better part of valour.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
Don’t foul, don’t flinch—hit the line hard.
—Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American Head of State, Political leader, Historian, Explorer
My advice to you, if you should ever be in a hold-up, is to line up with the cowards and save your bravery for an occasion when it may be of some benefit to you.
—O. Henry (William Sydney Porter) (1862–1910) American Writer of Short Stories
Some have been thought brave because they were afraid to run away.
—Thomas Fuller (1608–61) English Cleric, Historian
No matter how carefully you plan your goals they will never be more than pipe dreams unless you pursue them with gusto.
—W. Clement Stone (1902–2002) American Self-help Guru, Entrepreneur
To do anything truly worth doing, I must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger, but jump in with gusto and scramble through as well as I can.
—Og Mandino (1923–96) American Self-Help Author
No fact of human nature is more characteristic that its willingness to live on a chance.
—Unknown
Some one praising a man for his fool hardy bravery, Cato, the elder, said, “There is a wide difference between true courage and a mere contempt of life.”
—Plutarch (c.46–c.120 CE) Greek Biographer, Philosopher
Finite to fail, but infinite to venture.
—Emily Dickinson (1830–86) American Poet
Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might.
—The Holy Bible Scripture in the Christian Faith
A person who walks in another’s tracks leaves no footprints.
—Unknown
But you be strong and do not lose courage, for there is reward for your work.
—The Holy Bible Scripture in the Christian Faith
When you carry out acts of kindness you get a wonderful feeling inside. It is as though something inside your body responds and says, yes, this is how I ought to feel.
—Harold Kushner (1935–2023) American Rabbi, Author
The greatest test of courage on earth is to bear defeat without losing heart.
—Robert G. Ingersoll (1833–99) American Lawyer, Orator, Agnostic
Boldness is a mask for fear, however great.
—Lucan (Marcus Annaeus Lucanus) (39–65 CE) Roman Statesman, Latin Poet
Courage is getting away from death by continually coming within an inch of it.
—G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) English Journalist, Novelist, Essayist, Poet
To put it boldly, it is the attempt at a posterior reconstruction of existence by the process of conceptualization.
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born Physicist
The courage we desire and prize is not the courage to die decently, but to live manfully.
—Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish Historian, Essayist
Have the courage of your desire.
—George Gissing (1857–1903) English Novelist
‘I will have no man in my boat,’ said Starbuck, ‘who is not afraid of a whale.’ By this, he seemed to mean not only that the most reliable and useful courage was that which arises from the fair estimation of the encountered peril, but that an utterly fearless man is a far more dangerous comrade than a coward.
—Herman Melville (1819–91) American Novelist, Short Story Writer, Essayist, Poet
The best hearts are ever the bravest.
—Laurence Sterne (1713–68) Irish Anglican Novelist, Clergyman
Live as brave men and face adversity with stout hearts.
—Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) (65–8 BCE) Roman Poet
Last, but by no means least, courage-moral courage, the courage of one’s convictions, the courage to see things through. The world ;is in a constant conspiracy against the brave. It’s the age-old struggle-the roar of the crowd on one side and the voice of your ;conscience on the other.
—Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964) American Military Leader
The human race afraid of nothing, rushes on through every crime.
—Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) (65–8 BCE) Roman Poet
I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.
—Harper Lee (1926–2016) American Novelist
Heroism, the Caucasian mountaineers say, is endurance for one moment more.
—George F. Kennan (1904–2005) American Writer, Diplomat
There are obstinate and unknown braves who defend themselves inch by inch in the shadows against the fatal invasion of want and turpitude. There are noble and mysterious triumphs which no eye sees. No renown rewards, and no flourish of trumpets salutes. Life, misfortune, isolation, abandonment, and poverty and battlefields which have their heroes.
—Victor Hugo (1802–85) French Novelist
Fortune befriends the bold.
—John Dryden (1631–1700) English Poet, Literary Critic, Playwright
Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace.
The soul that knows it not, knows no release from little things;
Knows not the livid loneliness of fear;
Nor mountain heights where bitter joy can hear
The sound of wings.
—Amelia Earhart (1897–1937) American Aviator
Nothing in life gives a man so much courage as the attainment or renewal of the conviction that other people regard him with favor; because it means that everyone joins to give him help and protection, which is an infinitely stronger bulwark against the ills of life than anything he can do himself.
—Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) German Philosopher
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