At the bottom of not a little of the bravery that appears in the world, there lurks a miserable cowardice. Men will face powder and steel because they have not the courage to face public opinion.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
That man is not truly brave who is afraid either to seem or to be, when it suits him, a coward.
If we take the generally accepted definition of bravery as a quality which knows no fear, I have never seen a brave man. All men are frightened. The more intelligent they are, the more they are frightened.
Women's courage is rather different from men's. The fact that women have to bring up children and look after husbands makes them braver at facing long-term issues, such as illness. Men are more immediately courageous. Lots of people are brave in battle.
For all men would be cowards if they durst.
Physical courage, which despises all danger, will make a man brave in one way; and moral courage, which despises all opinion, will make a man brave in another.
Cowardice and courage are never without a measure of affectation. Nor is love. Feelings are never true. They play with their mirrors.
In battle it is the cowards who run the most risk; bravery is a rampart of defense.
Brave men are brave from the very first.
The opposite of bravery is not cowardice but conformity.
The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice, it is conformity.