Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear — not absence of fear.
Mark Twain, born Samuel Clemens (1835–1910), was an American writer and humourist, author of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. He took his pen name from Mississippi river slang, having worked as a steamboat pilot. Alongside the novels he wrote travel books and sharp satire on the politics and society of his day.
About this theme: Courage
Aristotle placed courage precisely between cowardice and recklessness, settling a confusion that still recurs. Courage is not the absence of fear — that would be insensibility, which is not a virtue but a failure of judgement. Courage is acting despite fear, and it assumes the fear is present and warranted.
More by Mark Twain
- When in doubt, tell the truth.
- Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.
- Habit is habit, and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time.
- The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.
- Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been.
More on Courage
- Fortune favors the bold.— Latin Proverb
- I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.— Louisa May Alcott
- No one knows what he can do till he tries.— Publilius Syrus
- Dare to know! Have the courage to use your own understanding.— Immanuel Kant
- Courage is knowing what not to fear.— Plato