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Courage
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“The memory came faint and cold of the story I might have told, a story in the likeness of my life, I mean without the courage to end or the strength to go on.”
Samuel Beckett (1906–1989) said by 1989 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is the part of cowardice, not of courage, to go and crouch in a hole under a massive tomb, to avoid the blows of fortune.”
Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592) said by 1592 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ch. 3. A Usage of the Island of Cea (tr. George B. Ives, 1925)
“Injustice we worship; all that lifts us out of the miseries of life is the sublime fruit of injustice. Every immortal deed was an act of fearful injustice; the world of grandeur, of triumph, of courage, of lofty aspiration, was built up on injustice. Man would not be man but for injustice.”
George Moore (novelist) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“People with courage and character always seem sinister to the rest. It was a scandal that a breed of fearless and sinister people ran around freely, so they attached a nickname and a myth to these people to get even with them, to make up for the many times they had felt afraid.”
Hermann Hesse (1877–1962) said by 1962 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“They responded in five seconds. They did their jobs, with courage, grace... tenacity, humility... Eighteen years later? Do yours!”
Jon Stewart (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take, The clouds ye so much dread, Are big with mercy, and shall break In blessings on your head.”
William Cowper (1731–1800) said by 1800 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“He had the high degree of courage so common in the human race, a race capable of conceiving death, yet able to face its probability daily, on the highway, on the obstetrics table, on the battlefield, in the air, in the subway—and to face lightheartedly the certainty of death in the end.”
Robert A. Heinlein (1907–1988) said by 1988 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Hans had courage to burn. If he had been willing to knuckle under to the Nazis he would have stayed at Kaiser Wilhelm Institute. But Hans was a scientist. He wouldn’t trim his notion of truth to fit political gangsters.”
Robert A. Heinlein (1907–1988) said by 1988 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Heredity isn’t everything; I’m myself, an individual. You aren’t your parents. You’re not your father, you are not your mother. But you are a little late realizing it.” She sat up straight. “So be yourself, Knothead, and have the courage to make your own mess of your life. Don’t imitate somebody else’s mess.”
Robert A. Heinlein (1907–1988) said by 1988 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If a grasshopper tries to fight a lawnmower, one may admire his courage but not his judgment.”
Robert A. Heinlein (1907–1988) said by 1988 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Courage and perseverance have a magical talisman, before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish into air. These qualities have ever been displayed in their mightiest perfection, as attendants in the retinue of strong passions.”
John Quincy Adams (1767–1848) said by 1848 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“War is capitalism with the gloves off and many who go to war know it but they go to war because they don't want to be a hero. It takes courage to sit down and be counted.”
Tom Stoppard (1937–2025) said by 2025 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Two things stand like stone: kindness in anothers trouble, courage in your own. (This is a quote from poet Adam Lindsay Gordon)”
Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997) said by 1997 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Organization seemed to be the key. To get huge masses of properly matched men and material to the right place at the right time in the right order with the swiftness required to even grasp survival—to wrestle an infinitely complex and confusing reality into the abstract shape of victory—organization, it seemed, might even outrank courage as a soldierly virtue.”
Lois McMaster Bujold (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I know you have courage, and I know you have will. The rest is just picking yourself up and ramming into the wall again and again until it falls down.”
Lois McMaster Bujold (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The last thing a woman will consent to discover in a man whom she loves, or on whom she simply depends, is want of courage.”
Joseph Conrad (1857–1924) said by 1924 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The sea — this truth must be confessed — has no generosity. No display of manly qualities — courage, hardihood, endurance, faithfulness — has ever been known to touch its irresponsible consciousness of power.”
Joseph Conrad (1857–1924) said by 1924 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The cabman looked at the pieces of silver, which, appearing very minute in his big, grimy palm, symbolised the insignificant results which reward the ambitious courage and toil of a mankind whose day is short on this earth of evil.”
Joseph Conrad (1857–1924) said by 1924 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“What used to be called a Canadian novel was a kind of prairie frontier story, but it was phony. In the plot, people came to the land; the land loved them; they worked and struggled and had lots of children. There was a Frenchman who talked funny and a greenhorn from England who was a fancy-pants but when it came to the crunch he was all courage. Those novels would make you retch.”
Robertson Davies (1913–1995) first seen 1988 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On the generic Canadian novel, in the New York Times (29 December 1988).
“Perhaps the word for the feeling I mean is serenity, a high acceptance, a recognition that Heracleitus's doctrine of eternal flow is a great truth, and while we may not, in ourselves, find the moment when the one element changes into the other, that moment will come and the consciousness of its inevitability may give us courage in adversity, and balance in good fortune.”
Robertson Davies (1913–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“South Africa needs all its people black and white; young and old; Christian, Muslim, Hindu or Jewish. There is a place for all of us provided we have the courage to work together to build that common future.”
Nelson Mandela (1918–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Because of their courage and persistence for many years, we can, today, even set the dates when all humanity will join together to celebrate one of the outstanding human victories of our century. When that moment comes, we shall, together, rejoice in a common victory over racism, apartheid and white minority rule.”
Nelson Mandela (1918–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To me, there is no greater act of courage than being the one who kisses first.”
Janeane Garofalo (born 1964) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Courage, ne'er by sorrow broken! Aid where tears of virtue flow; Faith to keep each promise spoken! Truth alike to friend and foe!”
Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805) said by 1805 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Anxiety is the unwillingness to play even when you know the odds are for you. Courage is the willingness to play even when you know the odds are against you.”
Thomas Szasz (1920–2012) said by 2012 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Yes, the world is watching what we do. Yes, America's destiny is ours to choose. So let's be stronger together, my fellow Americans. Let’s look to the future with courage and confidence. Let’s build a better tomorrow for our beloved children and our beloved country. And when we do, America will be greater than ever.”
Hillary Clinton (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Freedom is the sure possession of those alone who have the courage to defend it.”
Pericles (494–429 BC) said by 429 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Homage to Greece (1943)
“Only a few people in this world were lucky enough to run into their true partners—it took outrageous luck for it to happen, then the sense to recognize it, and the courage to act. Few could be expected to have all that, and then to have things go well. The rest had to make do.”
Kim Stanley Robinson (born 1952) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is when we all play safe that we create a world of utmost insecurity. It is when we all play safe that fatality will lead us to our doom. It is in the "dark shade of courage" alone that the spell can be broken.”
Dag Hammarskjöld (1905–1961) said by 1961 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Servant of Peace: A Selection of the Speeches and Statements of Dag Hammarskjöld, Secretary General of the United Nations (1962), p. 107
“Le courage de nos différences. Without becoming irresponsible, to accept what divides us — with humility and with pride. It is by the 'new' that mankind is saved or betrayed.”
Dag Hammarskjöld (1905–1961) first seen 1955 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 19–20 November 1955
“Have the courage to be ignorant of a great number of things, in order to avoid the calamity of being ignorant of everything.”
Sydney Smith (1771–1845) said by 1845 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A great deal of talent is lost to the world for the want of a little courage. Every day sends to their graves a number of obscure men who have only remained obscure because their timidity has prevented them from making a first effort.”
Sydney Smith (1771–1845) said by 1845 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“What Charlize Theron achieves in Patty Jenkins' Monster isn't a performance but an embodiment. With courage, art and charity, she empathizes with Aileen Wuornos, a damaged woman who committed seven murders. She does not excuse the murders. She simply asks that we witness the woman's final desperate attempt to be a better person than her fate intended.”
Roger Ebert (1942–2013) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Review of Monster (1 January 2004)
“Crowds can be frightening. They have a way of impressing the low, base taste upon their members. Watching the way thousands of people in his audience could not think for themselves, could not find the courage to allow their ordinary feelings of decency and taste to prevail, I understood better how demagogues are possible.”
Roger Ebert (1942–2013) first seen 1991 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Review of Dice Rules (17 May 1991)
“True courage scorns To vent her prowess in a storm of words; And, to the valiant, actions speak alone.”
Tobias Smollett (1721–1771) said by 1771 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We Americans write our own history. And the chapters of which we're proudest are the ones where we had the courage to change. Time and again, Americans have seen the need for change, and have taken the initiative to bring that change to life.”
Al Gore (born 1948) first seen 1996 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech at the Democratic National Convention (28 August 1996).
“The Poles have had the courage to stand up to the Kremlin. The British people must now stand up to the Pentagon and close all their nuclear bases here.”
Tony Benn (1925–2014) first seen 1981 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech to a CND rally (24 October 1981), quoted in Jad Adams, Tony Benn (Macmillan, 1992), p. 420
“Unless a reviewer has the courage to give you unqualified praise, I say ignore the bastard.”
John Steinbeck (1902–1968) said by 1968 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted by John Kenneth Galbraith in the Introduction to The Affluent Society (1977 edition)
“It is so easy a thing to give—only great men have the courage and courtesy and, yes, the generosity to receive.”
John Steinbeck (1902–1968) said by 1968 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Courage (in a soldier) is maintained by a certain anger; anger is a little blind and likes to strike out. And from this follows a thousand abuses, a thousand evils and misfortunes that are impossible to predict in an army during war.”
Joseph Joubert (1754–1824) said by 1824 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Of courtesy it is much less Than courage of heart or holiness Yet in my walks it seems to me That the Grace of God is in courtesy.”
Hilaire Belloc (1870–1953) said by 1953 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We make progress in society only if we stop cursing and complaining about its shortcomings and have the courage to do something about them.”
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (1926–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Voyage of Purpose : Spiritual Wisdom from Near-Death Back to Life (2011) by David Bennett and Cindy Griffith-Bennett, p. 6; also at the official site of the Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Foundation
“I bow my head to the victims of terrorism. I am highly impressed of the courage of New York residents. The great city and the great American nation are to win!”
Vladimir Putin (born 1952) first seen 2001 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Inscription at the World Trade Center Memorial Wall (15 November 2001).
“Morale is the state of mind. It is steadfastness and courage and hope. It is confidence and zeal and loyalty. It is élan, esprit de corps and determination.”
George C. Marshall (1880–1959) first seen 1948 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Military Review (October 1948)
“You have the courage to tell the masses what no politician told them: you are inferior and all the improvements in your conditions which you simply take for granted you owe to the effort of men who are better than you. If this be arrogance, as some of your critics observed, it is still the truth that had to said in the age of the Welfare State.”
Ludwig von Mises (1881–1973) first seen 1958 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Mises' letter to Ayn Rand praising Atlas Shrugged,(23 January 1958), quoted in Mises: The Last Knight of Liberalism (2007).
“With uncertainty in one scale, courage and self-confidence should be thrown into the other to correct the balance. The greater they are, the greater the margin that can be left for accidents.<!--”
Carl von Clausewitz (1780–1831) said by 1831 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If the mind is to emerge unscathed from this relentless struggle with the unforeseen, two qualities are indispensable: first, an intellect that, even in the darkest hour, retains some glimmerings of the inner light which leads to truth; and second, the courage to follow this faint light wherever it may lead.”
Carl von Clausewitz (1780–1831) said by 1831 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Courage is what others can't see, what is never affirmed. It is made of what you have thrown away and then come back for.”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: From Leonard Cohen’s journals. As quoted in: Zeus Ghosh (June 30, 2022): Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song (2021) Review: A tryst with the God of Songs. In: High on Films. Archived from the original on March …
“Bullies — political bullies, economic bullies, and religious bullies — cannot be appeased; they have to be opposed with courage, clarity, and conviction. This is never easy. These Fanaticism|true believers don't fight fair. Robert's Rules of Order is not one of their holy texts.”
Bill Moyers (1934–2025) first seen 2005 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Sport of God", speech accepting the Union Medal of the Union Theological Seminary (7 September 2005), as quoted Moyers on Democracy (2008), p. 375
“I need to explore and discover and so that has given me, really, to some what seems like courage, but really it's just in my stars, there's nothing I can do about it . . . . I guess I'll just take my award and run now.”
Joni Mitchell (born 1943) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Said on being inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, www.chartattack.com (January 29, 2007)