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Courage

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“What a man sacrifices in struggling for his Volk, a woman sacrifices in struggling to preserve this Volk in individual cases. What a man gives in heroic courage on the battlefield, woman gives in eternally patient devotion, in eternally patient suffering and endurance. Every child to which she gives birth is a battle which she wages in her Volk's fateful question of to be or not to be.”
Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) first seen 1932 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech from the Sixth Nazi Party Congress, Nuremberg (8 September 1934), quoted in Hitler: speeches and proclamations, 1932-1945 - Volume 2 - Page 533
“If you do not speak up when it matters, when would it matter that you speak? The opposite of courage is conformity. Even a dead fish can go with the flow.”
Jim Hightower (born 1943) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The opposite for courage is not cowardice, it is conformity. Even a dead fish can go with the flow.”
Jim Hightower (born 1943) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“He who knows no hardships will know no hardihood. He who faces no calamity will need no courage. Mysterious though it is, the characteristics in human nature which we love best grow in a soil with a strong mixture of troubles.”
Harry Emerson Fosdick (1878–1969) first seen 1969 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in The Christian Herald (1969), Vol. 92, p. 72
“God of grace and God of glory, On Thy people pour Thy power. Crown Thine ancient church's story, Bring her bud to glorious flower. Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, For the facing of this hour, For the facing of this hour.”
Harry Emerson Fosdick (1878–1969) said by 1969 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Lo! the hosts of evil 'round us, Scorn Thy Christ, assail His ways. From the fears that long have bound us, Free our hearts to faith and praise. Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, For the living of these days, For the living of these days.”
Harry Emerson Fosdick (1878–1969) said by 1969 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, Lest we miss Thy kingdom's goal, Lest we miss Thy kingdom's goal.”
Harry Emerson Fosdick (1878–1969) said by 1969 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“At times he regarded the wounded soldiers in an envious way. He conceived persons with torn bodies to be peculiarly happy. He wished that he, too, had a wound, a red badge of courage.”
Stephen Crane (1871–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Desperate courage makes One a majority.”
Andrew Jackson (1767–1845) said by 1845 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted by James Parton in the Life of Andrew Jackson (1860), vol. III, ch. XXXVI, "War Upon the Bank Renewed
“Courage, then, my countrymen, our contest is not only whether we ourselves shall be free, but whether there shall be left to mankind an asylum on earth for civil and religious liberty.”
Samuel Adams (1722–1803) said by 1803 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Courage is a quality so necessary for maintaining virtue that it is always respected, even when it is associated with vice.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) first seen 1784 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: (June 1784) p. 526
“I like it, murder, because this is courage. It is anti-bourgeois. Murder is closer to heaven, because after becoming 'remords de conscience', one prays, one opens the sky, and the angels say, 'Good morning'!”
Salvador Dalí (1904–1989) said by 1989 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Haven’t I told you scores of times that you’re always beginners, and the greatest satisfaction was not in being at the top, but in getting there, in the enjoyment you get out of scaling the heights? ... If only we could have the courage to hang ourselves in front of our last masterpiece!”
Émile Zola (1840–1902) said by 1902 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ch. 7 (tr. Thomas Walton and Roger Pearson, 1993)
“Americanism means the virtues of courage, honor, justice, truth, sincerity, and hardihood—the virtues that made America. The things that will destroy America are prosperity-at-any-price, peace-at-any-price, safety-first instead of duty-first, the love of soft living and the get-rich-quick theory of life.”
Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) first seen 1917 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to S. Stanwood Menken, chairman, committee on Congress of Constructive Patriotism (January 10, 1917). Roosevelt's sister, Mrs. Douglas Robinson, read the letter to a national meeting, January 26, 1917. Reported i…
“A man writes to throw off the poison which he has accumulated because of his false way of life. He is trying to recapture his innocence, yet all he succeeds in doing (by writing) is to inoculate the world with a virus of his disillusionment. No man would set a word down on paper if he had the courage to live out what he believed in.”
Henry Miller (1891–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Whenever a taboo is broken, something good happens, something vitalizing. ... Taboos after all are only hangovers, the product of diseased minds, you might say, of fearsome people who hadn't the courage to live and who under the guise of morality and religion have imposed these things upon us.”
Henry Miller (1891–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A grand gesture. But what does it period? What does it osse? We were always adroiter with objects than lives, and more facile at courage than kindness: from the momentthe first flint was flaked this landing was merely a matter of time. But our selves, like Adam's, still don't fit us exactly, modern only in this—our lack of decorum.”
W. H. Auden (1907–1973) said by 1973 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The hope of courage lies in every heart, together with the fear that we will fail. When the test came, you did not fail.”
Romeo LeBlanc (1927–2009) first seen 1995 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Source: speech at the Ceremony for Decorations for Bravery, June 23, 1995.
“The career of Marian Anderson, the world-class contralto who was denied permission to sing in Constitution Hall because of her race, symbolizes the achievements of so many black American musicians. Performing instead at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939, she drew an audience of 75,000 and inspired the world not only with her rich musical gifts, but also with her determination and courage.”
George W. Bush (born 1946) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Our nation, this generation, will lift the dark threat of violence from our people and our future. We will rally the world to this cause by our efforts, by our courage. We will not tire, we will not falter and we will not fail.”
George W. Bush (born 1946) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The American people have responded magnificently, with courage and compassion, strength and resolve. As I have met the heroes, hugged the families, and looked into the tired faces of rescuers, I have stood in awe of the American people.”
George W. Bush (born 1946) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Yet, some explorers do not return. And the loss settles unfairly on a few. The families here today shared in the courage of those they loved. But now they must face life and grief without them. The sorrow is lonely; but you are not alone. In time, you will find comfort and the grace to see you through. And in God's own time, we can pray that the day of your reunion will come.”
George W. Bush (born 1946) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In citizens like these, we see the best of our country – resilient and hopeful, caring and strong. These virtues give me an unshakable faith in America. We have faced danger and trial, and there is more ahead. But with the courage of our people and confidence in our ideals, this great Nation will never tire … never falter … and never fail.”
George W. Bush (born 1946) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“So far no one had had enough courage and intelligence to reveal me to my dear Germans. My problems are new, my psychological horizon frighteningly comprehensive, my language bold and clear; there may well be no books written in German which are richer in ideas and more independent than mine.”
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) first seen 1887 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Carl Fuchs (14 December 1887)
“It takes intellectual courage to kick yourself out of your emotional incredulity and persuade yourself that there is no other rational choice.”
Richard Dawkins (born 1941) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There is only one thing that it requires real courage to say, and that is a truism.”
G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) first seen 1904 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: G. F. Watts (1904)
“I will fight for you, yes, and you will fight for me. And if you have sacrificed joy and courage and beauty and wisdom for my sake, I will give them all to you again; and yet you must also give them to me, for they are things in which without you I am wanting. But together we can make them.”
Eleanor Farjeon (1881–1965) said by 1965 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Yes, as my swift days near their goal 'Tis all that I implore In life and death a chainless soul With courage to endure.”
Emily Brontë (1818–1848) first seen 1846 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Old Stoic", st. 3 (1846)
“Courage is of the heart by derivation, And great it is. But fear is of the soul.”
Robert Frost (1874–1963) first seen 1947 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: A Masque of Mercy (1947)
“Courage is in the air in bracing whiffs Better than all the stalemate an's and ifs.”
Robert Frost (1874–1963) said by 1963 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It has been written that the most sublime figure in American history was George Washington on his knees in the snow at Valley Forge. He personified a people who knew it was not enough to depend on their own courage and goodness; they must also seek help from God, their Father and Preserver.”
Ronald Reagan (1911–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Senators, we hear, must be politicians – and politicians must be concerned only with winning votes, not with statesmanship or courage. Mothers may still want their favorite sons to grow up to be President, but according to a famous Gallup poll of some years ago, they do not want them to become politicians in the process.”
John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) said by 1963 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Source: Profiles in Courage Excerpts. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum. Archived from the original on August 17, 2025. Retrieved August 17, 2025.
“Their platform, made up of left-over Democratic planks, has the courage of our old convictions. Their pledge is a pledge to the status quo — and today there can be no status quo.”
John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) first seen 1960 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Address Accepting the Democratic Party Nomination for the Presidency of the United States — Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles (15 July 1960)
“...what really counts is not the immediate act of courage or of valor, but those who bear the struggle day in and day out — not the sunshine patriots but those who are willing to stand for a long period of time.”
John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) first seen 1962 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Remarks at the White House to Members of the American Legion (70)" (1 March 1962)
“The green beret' is again becoming a symbol of excellence, a badge of courage, a mark of distinction in the fight for freedom. I know the United States Army will live up to its reputation for imagination, resourcefulness, and spirit as we meet this challenge.”
John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) first seen 1962 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to the United States Army" (11 April 1962); Box 5, President's Outgoing Executive Correspondence, White House Central Chronological Files, Papers of John F. Kennedy, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library
“the courage to receive time's mightiest dream”
E. E. Cummings (1894–1962) said by 1962 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Courage, not cleverness; not even inspiration, is the grain of mustard that grows up to be a great tree.”
Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951) said by 1951 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You could attach prices to thoughts. Some cost a lot, some a little. And how does one pay for thoughts? The answer, I think, is: with courage.”
Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951) said by 1951 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You could attach prices to ideas. Some cost a lot some little. ... And how do you pay for ideas? I believe: with courage.”
Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951) said by 1951 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We differ, blind and seeing, one from another, not in our senses, but in the use we make of them, in the imagination and courage with which we seek wisdom beyond the senses.”
Helen Keller (1880–1968) first seen 1910 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Five-sensed World (1910)
“Who shall dare let his incapacity for hope or goodness cast a shadow upon the courage of those who bear their burdens as if they were privileges?”
Helen Keller (1880–1968) said by 1968 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Have courage, or cunning, when you deal with an enemy.”
Publilius Syrus (101–101 BC) said by 101 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The stoic husband was the glorious thing. The man had courage, was a sage, 'tis true, And lov'd his country.”
Alexander Pope (1688–1744) first seen 1714 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Epilogue to Rowe's Jane Shore (1714)
“Near this spot Are deposited the Remains of one Who possessed Beauty without Vanity, Strength without Insolence, Courage without Ferocity, And all the virtues of Man, without his Vices. This Praise, which would be unmeaning Flattery If inscribed over human ashes, Is but a just tribute to the Memory of BOATSWAIN, a DOG”
Lord Byron (1788–1824) first seen 1808 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Inscription on the monument of a Newfoundland dog (1808).
“The work we desire and prize is not the courage to die decently, but to live manfully.”
Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) said by 1881 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To reconcile Despotism with Freedom:—well, is that such a mystery? Do you not already know the way? It is to make your Despotism just. Rigorous as Destiny; but just too, as Destiny and its Laws. The Laws of God: all men obey these, and have no 'Freedom' at all but in obeying them. The way is already known, part of the way;—and courage and some qualities are needed for walking on it!”
Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) said by 1881 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Unbounded courage and compassion join'd, Tempering each other in the victor's mind, Alternately proclaim him good and great, And make the hero and the man complete.”
Joseph Addison (1672–1719) said by 1719 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Fill ev'ry glass, for wine inspires us, And fires us With courage, love and joy. Women and wine should life employ. Is there ought else on earth desirous?”
John Gay (1685–1732) said by 1732 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Cowards fear to die; but courage stout, Rather than live in snuff, will be put out.”
Walter Raleigh (1552–1618) said by 1618 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On the snuff of a candle the night before he died; Raleigh's Remains, p. 258, ed. 1661
“What a bore it is […] that the dull and uneducated and unimaginative should possess a dogged contempt for danger, and a kind of stupid fearlessness that we are never to have. I do not see how a highly imaginative man can have much animal courage.”
Jean Ingelow (1820–1897) said by 1897 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source