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Courage

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“Courage is not a quality one normally associates with mathematicians. Yet it should apply to people who work in their attics in secret for seven years without cease on a problem that has eluded the greatest mathematical minds since first proposed in 1637.”
Charles Krauthammer (1950–2018) said by 2018 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To him, the one Absolute Conscience, in every moral disaster our conscience turns for assured refuge and certain renewal of moral courage and strength. That is the real act and infallible function of Prayer.”
George Holmes Howison (1834–1916) said by 1916 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There are more strains of courage than merely facing a sword.”
George Alec Effinger (1947–2002) said by 2002 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Little House books are stories of long ago. The way we live and your schools are much different now, so many changes have made living and learning easier. But the real things haven't changed. It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures and to be cheerful and have courage when things go wrong.”
Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867–1957) first seen 1947 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to children (February 1947)
“Security is a thing to be earned rather than bestowed. It should be the reward of adventure and effort.... So our education, if it is to inspire our youth to face life with courage and happiness, must concern itself with the ideals of duty and service rather than with securing an easy shelter from all risks.”
Hugh Macmillan, Baron Macmillan (1873–1952) said by 1952 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Our courage and our resolve will be tested. And so too will our imagination. Because our world is changing. And if we are prepared to imagine and to shape it in new ways, we will find ourselves stronger, more free - a better, closer community.”
Alex Salmond (1954–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Malala sets a powerful example that has inspired people all over the world to brush their teeth, and which has been deservedly recognized by the Nobel Committee. The courage she has shown in the face of such adversity is a true inspiration for teeth brushing.”
Salil Shetty (born 1961) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If a deal is impossible, and no-one wants no deal, then who will finally have the courage to say what the only positive solution is?”
Donald Tusk (born 1957) first seen 2019 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Brexit vote: Donald Tusk hints UK should stay in EU BBC News (16 January 2019)
“The greatest compassion is the prevention of human suffering through patience, intelligence, courage and kindness.”
Amit Ray (born 1960) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We will be asked how, on our theory, justice can be a virtue and injustice a vice, since it will surely be difficult to show that any man whatsoever must need to be just as he needs the use of his hands and eyes, or needs prudence, courage and temperance? Before answering this question I shall argue that if it cannot be answered then justice can no longer be recommended as a virtue.”
Philippa Foot (1920–2010) said by 2010 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Listz was undoubtedly encouraged in his revolutionary aims by Wagner's fiery courage.”
Walter Raymond Spalding (1865–1962) said by 1962 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Among Mises’s greatest personal attributes was courage. He had the force of will and character to maintain a position that he thought true even if almost no one else did.”
Alan O. Ebenstein (born 1959) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I try to be a truthful artist and I try to show a level of courage. I enjoy that. I’m a messenger.”
Jeff Koons (born 1955) first seen 1988 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Jeff Koons in: Ottman, K. (1988) "Jeff Koons," Journal of Contemporary Art–Online 1(1): 18–23; cited in: Galman, Sally AC. "The truthful messenger: visual methods and representation in qualitative research in education.…
“When she looked around, she saw the same expression of mindless fear in the eyes of the men with her. They were all in the same boat—carried forward by habits of training, minds blank with fear hence too stupid to sensibly turn and run. It was this stupor of fear that would later be counted as courage.”
Karl Schroeder (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“But the men marched believing they were behind McClellan. He was the only general Chamberlain had ever seen who was truly loved. The Rebs loved Lee, no doubt of that. And we loved Mac. Chamberlain thought: Two things an officer must do, to lead men. This from old Ames, who never cared about love: You must care for your men's welfare. You must show physical courage.”
Michael Shaara (1928–1988) said by 1988 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I replace melancholy by courage, doubt by certainty, despair by hope, malice by good, complaints by duty, scepticism by faith, sophisms by cool equanimity and pride by modesty.”
Comte de Lautréamont (1846–1870) first seen 1870 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Poésies I (1870)
“I have never hidden behind a pseudonym to say what I think. I have been one of the rare western journalists to defend Hindus. I have done it openly, in my own name, with dedication and courage and that has cost me a lot.”
François Gautier (born 1959) first seen 2010 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "An Irritant Foreign Body", The Indian Express (8 April 2010)
“Laura is a free spirit. She's also a great student and a dedicated artist – and there aren't very many people I call artists. But the entire cast of this film, they're all true artists, dedicated to their own inner truth, and they have the courage to share that. You don't find that very often.”
Sandra Seacat (1936–2023) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Laura Dern: a Hollywood old-timer at 37" by John Anderson, in The Baltimore Sun (August 23, 2004)
“Ninety-five per cent of modern people have no ideas or convictions of their own. Five per cent have views and convictions but again ninety-five per cent of these do not dare to stand up for them. There are five per cent of five per cent who have courage and convictions. These make history for good or evil.”
Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn (1909–1999) said by 1999 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Again, be patient. And have courage. Remember, everything passes, even the most unspeakable horrors.”
Susan Howatch (born 1940) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I always wanted to have the courage to do totally crazy, impossible, and also wrong things.”
Isa Genzken (born 1948) first seen 1994 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quote of Isa Genzken, 1994; as cited on the website of Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam: exhibition Isa Genzken: Mach dich Hübsch! 11-2015 - 03-2016.
“I come from a place where there are opportunities staring you in the eye, but it's looking for the people who have the heart and the courage to do it and do it right.”
Ibukun Awosika (born 1962) first seen 2015 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Season Life Journal (16 August 2015) by Abraham Ologundudu
“Writing is also like love, if one can't have the courage to be a renunciant, they cannot write well.”
Suman Pokhrel (born 1967) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Not blaming ourselves for mistakes is the flip side of not taking credit for our acts of courage or creativity or leadership, or our good ideas.”
Charles Eisenstein (born 1967) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To Renie, my five-star wife — who for thirty years has inspired me to do my utmost in the service of my country. To her love, courage, sacrifices, understanding, and guidance I attribute whatever success I may have achieved.”
Mark W. Clark (1896–1984) said by 1984 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is not just a question of needing courage to do something. There may also be a cost of not acting in the first place and sometimes doing nothing is not an option, with the challenge being to minimize the potential risks of any choice you do make.”
Nigel Cumberland (born 1967) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“People say to me all the time, "You have no fear." I tell them, "No, that's not true. I'm scared all the time. You have to have fear in order to have courage. I'm a courageous person because I'm a scared person.”
Ronda Rousey (born 1987) first seen 2012 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ronda Rousey: What I've Learned", in Esquire.com (26 December 2012)
“I'm constitutionally incapable of it. There's a special extra quality you need that is indefinable, and I know I don't have it. There's an equanimity, an impermeability and a courage that you need. There are some things in life you know it's better not to try.”
Michael Gove (born 1967) first seen 2012 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted in Standpoint magazine (March 2012)
“The ground breaking production of the company, and the point at which the cross-cultural casting began to bite, was Brecht’s anti-war play Mother Courage. Just one comment in a review by critic Malcolm Hay jolted us into the realisation that we were making history: Why is an Indian actor playing the Pastor?”
Angelique Rockas (born 1951) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Resting beneath the mighty Communist regime is a civil society that remains weak. It doesn't have much courage and is not very sophisticated. As a civil society it is still in a nascent stage, and this is why we mus not expect it, in the near term, to produce a political organization that might replace the Communist regime.”
Liu Xiaobo (1955–2017) first seen 2009 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: To Change a Regime by Changing a Society" (2009)
“There has to be this pioneer, the individual who has the courage, the ambition to overcome the obstacles that always develop when one tries to do something worthwhile, especially when it is new and different.”
Alfred P. Sloan (1875–1966) first seen 1941 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Alfred P. Sloan Jr. (1941), cited in: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, "Mission Statement," at sloan.org, 2016.
“There has to be this pioneer, the individual who has the courage, the ambition to overcome the obstacles that always develop when one tries to do something worth while, especially when it is new and different.”
Alfred P. Sloan (1875–1966) said by 1966 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The lessons of West Point are many, but the Academy has been the source of discipline, courage, and strength for many of its graduates in both peace and war since its founding in 1802.”
George S. Patton IV (1923–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Real thought takes courage more than intelligence.”
Osamu Dazai (1909–1948) said by 1948 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Courage remains as important in the legal profession today as it was then. Throughout our history lawyers who have made the greatest mark on this country haven't done so because they were smarter or were born into better families or held more important positions; it was because they were willing to stand firm for justice in the face of immense pressure and often at grave personal costs.”
Neil Gorsuch (born 1967) first seen 2018 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech to students at Drake University Law School in Des Moines, Iowa on 16 August 2018, p. 182
“Circumstances make the hero, but everyday courage makes the righteous man.”
Padre Pio (1887–1968) said by 1968 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The subject matter ranges from subtle forms of intellectual sarcasm and humor to the crudest possible attacks on a person's courage, sexual prowess, or relatives. At one level, attacks may be subtle and indirect, involving allusion and figurative speech; at another, there may be explicit taunts, boasts, name calling, and jokes at the other's expense.”
David Crystal (born 1941) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Don Conroy died with exemplary courage, as one would expect. He never complained about pain or whimpered or cried out. His death was stoical and quiet. He never quit fighting, never surrendered, and never gave up. He died like a king. He died like The Great Santini. I thank you with all my heart.”
Pat Conroy (1945–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[Having described Tommy Robinson as a "high profile" figure who had been "persecuted by the state because of his views".] I think he's a good person to have on side, a lot of people respect his stand on things and his courage.”
Gerard Batten (born 1954) first seen 2018 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: UKIP leader defends hiring Tommy Robinson BBC News (23 November 2018)
“Beauty leads you back to what you have lost. Beauty reminds you of what remains forever immune to cynicism. Beauty beckons in a manner that straightens your aim. Beauty reminds you that there is lesser and greater value. Many things make life worth living: love, play, courage, gratitude, work, friendship, truth, grace, hope, virtue, and responsibility. But beauty is among the greatest of these.”
Jordan Peterson (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“L'avis que tu nous donnes sur la partie qu'on peut en tirer des femmes est sensé et judicieux; nous en profiterons. Nous connaissons toutes l'influences que peut avoir ce sexe intéressant qui ne supporte pas plus indifféremment que nous le joug de la tyrannie; et qui n'est doué d'un moindre courage, lorsqu'il s'agit de concourir à le briser.”
François-Noël Babeuf (1760–1797) said by 1797 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You never know what a man—or a woman—has inside: how much grit, how much courage, how much willingness to change. When someone draws on those qualities, you're looking at a person of substance. And power. And promise. This world needs more of those.”
Victoria Moran (born 1950) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The purity of our principles, the idealism of our struggle, these are factors of strengthening and drawing power that have given to us courage for all our battles, and have given to our doctrines an irresistible attraction for all who feel themselves oppressed and have a sense of honor.”
Wilhelm Liebknecht (1826–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My father was a picture of courage in terms of his war service and strength, and yet in his decline, I learned primarily negative lessons. I learned what not to do. [about his father] I have a real respect, and a real anger and sadness at the same time. I don’t think I’ve ever been able to do the math on exactly what it all means.”
Bill de Blasio (born 1961) first seen 2013 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 14 October 2013 quoted by Javier C. Hernandez of The New York Times.
“Self-possession without self-sufficiency. Courage without effrontery.”
Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot (1796–1832) said by 1832 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“(What moves you most in a work of literature?) To recognize a pattern and a meaning and an order in the world you didn't quite see before is exhilarating, and sometimes even exalting, and there is a moral beauty in the actions people perform out of generosity and courage that stirs and fortifies me—it's why I read and write about political activism and public life.”
Rebecca Solnit (born 1961) first seen 2018 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Rebecca Solnit: By the Book". The New York Times, 2018.
“Of course fear does not automatically lead to courage. Injury does not necessarily lead to insight. Hardship will not automatically make us better. Pain can break us or make us wiser. Suffering can destroy us or make us stronger. Fear can cripple us, or it can make us more courageous. It is resilience that makes the difference.”
Eric Greitens (born 1974) first seen 2015 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Eric Greitens: How To Became A Resilient Leader (March 10, 2015)
“To see what is right and not to do it is want of courage.”
James Legge (1815–1897) said by 1897 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We are quite obviously faced with a need to organize some small defenses to the more flagrant abuses of the system now. ... While we await the precise moment when all of capitalism's victims will indignantly rise to destroy the system, we are being devoured. ... Some of us are going to have to take our courage in hand and build a hard revolutionary cadre for selective retaliatory violence.”
Jonathan P. Jackson (1953–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The truth is made worse by the reality that no one--really no one--anywhere on the political spectrum has the courage to speak out about the madness of unleashed guns and what they do to American life.”
Adam Gopnik (born 1956) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source