“They are surely to be esteemed the bravest spirits who, having the clearest sense of both the pains and pleasures of life, do not on that account shrink from danger.”

Concessions to adversaries only end in self reproach, and the more strictly they are avoided the greater will be the chance of security.

Three of the gravest failings, want of sense, of courage, or of vigilance.

Amassing of wealth is an opportunity for good deeds, not hubris.

Indeed it is generally the case that men are readier to call rogues clever than simpletons honest, and are ashamed of being the second as they are proud of being the first.

For they had learned that true safety was to be found in long previous training, and not in eloquent exhortations uttered when they were going into action.

Few things are brought to a successful issue by impetuous desire, but most by calm and prudent forethought.

It is men who make a city, not walls or ships.

They whose minds are least sensitive to calamity, and whose hands are most quick to meet it, are the greatest men and the greatest communities.

Self-control is the chief element in self-respect, and respect of self, in turn, is the chief element in courage.

Men’s indignation, it seems, is more exited by legal wrong than by violent wrong; the first looks like being cheated by an equal, the second like being compelled by a superior.

Now the only sure basis of an alliance is for each party to be equally afraid of the other.

When tremendous dangers are involved, no one can be blamed for looking to his own interest.

Knowledge without understanding is useless.

Be convinced that to be happy means to be free and that to be free means to be brave. Therefore do not take lightly the perils of war.

It is a general rule of human nature that people despise those who treat them well, and look up to those who make no concessions.

And it is certain that those who do not yield to their equals, who keep terms with their superiors, and are moderate towards their inferiors, on the whole succeed best.

Pain makes you stronger. Fear makes you braver. Heartbreak makes you wiser.

Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and women to win them.

When we find someone who is brave, fun, intelligent, and loving, we have to thank the universe.

I’m not brave any more darling. I’m all broken. They’ve broken me.

I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self.

A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer.

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.

I think probably kindness is my number one attribute in a human being. I’ll put it before any of the things like courage or bravery or generosity or anything else.