Courage

The difference between talents and character is adroitness to keep the old and trodden round, and power and courage to make a new road to new and better goals.

— Transcendentalism · Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays, Circles, 1844 ↗

If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.

— Transcendentalism · Henry David Thoreau, Walden, and On the Duty of Civil Disobedience, Conclusion, 1854 ↗

Our merely social intolerance kills no one, roots out no opinions, but induces men to disguise them, or to abstain from any active effort for their diffusion.

— Nineteenth-century philosophy · John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, Chapter II (excerpt 3, para. 1), 1859 ↗

The despotism of custom is everywhere the standing hindrance to human advancement, being in unceasing antagonism to that disposition to aim at something better than customary, which is called, according to circumstances, the spirit of liberty, or that of progress or improvement.

— Nineteenth-century philosophy · John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, Ch. III, 1859 ↗

If there are any persons who contest a received opinion, or who will do so if law or opinion will let them, let us thank them for it, open our minds to listen to them, and rejoice that there is some one to do for us what we otherwise ought, if we have any regard for either the certainty or the vitality of our convictions, to do with much greater labour for ourselves.

— Nineteenth-century philosophy · John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, Chapter II, 1859 ↗

But the hushing of the criticism of honest opponents is a dangerous thing. It leads some of the best of the critics to unfortunate silence and paralysis of effort, and others to burst into speech so passionately and intemperately as to lose listeners.

— The turn of the century · W. E. B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk, III. Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others, 1903 ↗

moss-covered opinions assume the disproportioned form of prejudices, when they are indolently adopted only because age has given them a venerable aspect, though the reason on which they were built ceases to be a reason, or cannot be traced. Why are we to love prejudices, merely because they are prejudices? A prejudice is a fond obstinate persuasion, for which we can give no reason; for the moment a reason can be given for an opinion, it ceases to be a prejudice, though it may be an error in judgment.

— The Enlightenment · Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Chapter 5 (pre-Ch.6 section), 1792 ↗

Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist. He who would gather immortal palms must not be hindered by the name of goodness, but must explore if it be goodness. Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.

— Transcendentalism · Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays, Self-Reliance, 1844 ↗

Men, in general, seem to employ their reason to justify prejudices, which they have imbibed, they cannot trace how, rather than to root them out. The mind must be strong that resolutely forms its own principles; for a kind of intellectual cowardice prevails which makes many men shrink from the task, or only do it by halves.

— The Enlightenment · Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Chapter 1, 1792 ↗

When there are persons to be found, who form an exception to the apparent unanimity of the world on any subject, even if the world is in the right, it is always probable that dissentients have something worth hearing to say for themselves, and that truth would lose something by their silence.

— Nineteenth-century philosophy · John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, Chapter II, 1859 ↗

Serving men in an upright way, where shall I go to, and not experience such a thrice-repeated dismissal? If I choose to serve men in a crooked way, what necessity is there for me to leave the country of my parents?

— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 18.2, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗

To see what is right and not to do it is want of courage.

— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 2.24, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗

However unwillingly a person who has a strong opinion may admit the possibility that his opinion may be false, he ought to be moved by the consideration that however true it may be, if it is not fully, frequently, and fearlessly discussed, it will be held as a dead dogma, not a living truth.

— Nineteenth-century philosophy · John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, Chapter II (excerpt 3, para. 3), 1859 ↗

The omnipotence of Society means a dead level of uniformity. The claim of the individual to be heard, to say what he likes, to do what he likes, to live as he likes, is absolutely necessary, not only for the variety of elements without which life is poor, but also for the hope of a future age.

— Nineteenth-century philosophy · John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, III, 1859 ↗

As it is useful that while mankind are imperfect there should be different opinions, so is it that there should be different experiments of living; that free scope should be given to varieties of character, short of injury to others; and that the worth of different modes of life should be proved practically, when any one thinks fit to try them.

— Nineteenth-century philosophy · John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, Chapter III, paragraph 1, 1859 ↗

In the right state he is _Man Thinking_. In the degenerate state, when the victim of society, he tends to become a mere thinker, or, still worse, the parrot of other men's thinking.

— Transcendentalism · Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays, The American Scholar, 1844 ↗

If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind.

— Nineteenth-century philosophy · John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, Chapter II, 1859 ↗

He who lets the world, or his own portion of it, choose his plan of life for him, has no need of any other faculty than the ape-like one of imitation. He who chooses his plan for himself, employs all his faculties.

— Nineteenth-century philosophy · John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, Chapter III, paragraph 4, 1859 ↗

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. Speak what you think now in hard words, and to-morrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict everything you said to-day.

— Transcendentalism · Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays, Self-Reliance, 1844 ↗

It is by the loftiest and strongest instincts, when they break out passionately and carry the individual far above and beyond the average, and the low level of the gregarious conscience, that the self-reliance of the community is destroyed, its belief in itself, its backbone, as it were, breaks, consequently these very instincts will be most branded and defamed. The lofty independent spirituality, the will to stand alone, and even the cogent reason, are felt to be dangers, everything that elevates the individual above the herd, and is a source of fear to the neighbour, is henceforth called EVIL.

— Nineteenth-century philosophy · Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil, 201, tr. Helen Zimmern, 1907 ↗

He who can see truly in the midst of general infatuation is like a man whose watch keeps good time, when all clocks in the town in which he lives are wrong. He alone knows the right time; but what use is that to him? for everyone goes by the clocks which speak false, not even excepting those who know that his watch is the only one that is right.

— Nineteenth-century philosophy · Arthur Schopenhauer, Counsels and Maxims, Section 27, tr. T. Bailey Saunders, 1890 ↗

No one can be a great thinker who does not recognise, that as a thinker it is his first duty to follow his intellect to whatever conclusions it may lead. Truth gains more even by the errors of one who, with due study and preparation, thinks for himself, than by the true opinions of those who only hold them because they do not suffer themselves to think.

— Nineteenth-century philosophy · John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, Chapter II (excerpt 3, para. 2), 1859 ↗

In our times, from the highest class of society down to the lowest, every one lives as under the eye of a hostile and dreaded censorship. Not only in what concerns others, but in what concerns only themselves, the individual, or the family, do not ask themselves--what do I prefer? or, what would suit my character and disposition? or, what would allow the best and highest in me to have fair-play, and enable it to grow and thrive? They ask themselves, what is suitable to my position? what is usually done by persons of my station and pecuniary circumstances?

— Nineteenth-century philosophy · John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, Chapter III, paragraph 6, 1859 ↗

Meek young men grow up in libraries, believing it their duty to accept the views which Cicero, which Locke, which Bacon have given; forgetful that Cicero, Locke and Bacon were only young men in libraries when they wrote these books.

— Transcendentalism · Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays, The American Scholar, 1844 ↗

Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. Society is a joint-stock company, in which the members agree, for the better securing of his bread to each shareholder, to surrender the liberty and culture of the eater. The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its aversion. It loves not realities and creators, but names and customs.

— Transcendentalism · Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays, Self-Reliance, 1844 ↗

To be great is to be misunderstood.

— Transcendentalism · Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays, Self-Reliance, 1844 ↗

Every path but your own is the path of fate. Keep on your own track, then.

— Transcendentalism · Henry David Thoreau, Walden, and On the Duty of Civil Disobedience, Sounds, 1854 ↗

Thus the mind itself is bowed to the yoke: even in what people do for pleasure, conformity is the first thing thought of; they live in crowds; they exercise choice only among things commonly done: peculiarity of taste, eccentricity of conduct, are shunned equally with crimes: until by dint of not following their own nature, they have no nature to follow.

— Nineteenth-century philosophy · John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, Chapter III, paragraph 6, 1859 ↗

The price paid for this sort of intellectual pacification, is the sacrifice of the entire moral courage of the human mind.

— Nineteenth-century philosophy · John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, Chapter II (excerpt 3, para. 1), 1859 ↗

He who does anything because it is the custom, makes no choice. He gains no practice either in discerning or in desiring what is best. The mental and moral, like the muscular powers, are improved only by being used.

— Nineteenth-century philosophy · John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, Chapter III, paragraph 3, 1859 ↗

Like a well-guarded frontier fort, with defences within and without, so let a man guard himself. Not a moment should escape, for they who allow the right moment to pass, suffer pain when they are in hell.

— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 22.v.315, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗

For self is the lord of self, self is the refuge of self; therefore curb thyself as the merchant curbs a good horse.

— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 25.v.380, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗

The gods even envy him whose senses, like horses well broken in by the driver, have been subdued, who is free from pride, and free from appetites.

— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 7.v.94, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗

Rouse thyself by thyself, examine thyself by thyself, thus self-protected and attentive wilt thou live happily, O Bhikshu!

— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 25.v.379, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗

A little self-control at the right moment may prevent much subsequent compulsion at the hands of others. Nothing will protect us from external compulsion so much as the control of ourselves; and, as Seneca says, to submit yourself to reason is the way to make everything else submit to you.

— Nineteenth-century philosophy · Arthur Schopenhauer, Counsels and Maxims, Section 15, tr. T. Bailey Saunders, 1890 ↗

Self is the lord of self, who else could be the lord? With self well subdued, a man finds a lord such as few can find.

— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 12.v.160, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗

The mind That gives itself to follow shows of sense Seeth its helm of wisdom rent away, And, like a ship in waves of whirlwind, drives To wreck and death. Only with him, great Prince! Whose senses are not swayed by things of sense-- Only with him who holds his mastery, Shows wisdom perfect.

— Hinduism · Bhagavad Gita, 2, tr. Edwin Arnold, 1885 ↗

By rousing himself, by earnestness, by restraint and control, the wise man may make for himself an island which no flood can overwhelm.

— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 2.v.25, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗

Govern thy heart! Constrain th' entangled sense! Resist the false, soft sinfulness which saps Knowledge and judgment! Yea, the world is strong, But what discerns it stronger, and the mind Strongest; and high o'er all the ruling Soul.

— Hinduism · Bhagavad Gita, 3, tr. Edwin Arnold, 1885 ↗

Let a man overcome anger by love, let him overcome evil by good; let him overcome the greedy by liberality, the liar by truth!

— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 17.v.223, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗

If one man conquer in battle a thousand times thousand men, and if another conquer himself, he is the greatest of conquerors.

— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 8.v.103, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗

Yet may it grow restrained by habit, Prince! By wont of self-command. This Yog, I say, Cometh not lightly to th' ungoverned ones; But he who will be master of himself Shall win it, if he stoutly strive thereto.

— Hinduism · Bhagavad Gita, 6, tr. Edwin Arnold, 1885 ↗

As rain does not break through a well-thatched house, passion will not break through a well-reflecting mind.

— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 1.v.14, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗

The wise who control their body, who control their tongue, the wise who control their mind, are indeed well controlled.

— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 17.v.234, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗

Earnest among the thoughtless, awake among the sleepers, the wise man advances like a racer, leaving behind the hack.

— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 2.v.29, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗

He who knows other men is discerning; he who knows himself is intelligent. He who overcomes others is strong; he who overcomes himself is mighty. He who is satisfied with his lot is rich; he who goes on acting with energy has a (firm) will.

— Taoism · Tao Te Ching, 33-40.33, tr. James Legge, 1891 ↗

He who holds back rising anger like a rolling chariot, him I call a real driver; other people are but holding the reins.

— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 17.v.222, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗

Like a well-trained horse when touched by the whip, be ye active and lively, and by faith, by virtue, by energy, by meditation, by discernment of the law you will overcome this great pain (of reproof), perfect in knowledge and in behaviour, and never forgetful.

— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 10.v.144, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗

A man might have applied that to him, which is recorded of Socrates, that he knew how to want, and to enjoy those things, in the want whereof, most men show themselves weak; and in the fruition, intemperate: but to hold out firm and constant, and to keep within the compass of true moderation and sobriety in either estate, is proper to a man, who hath a perfect and invincible soul.

— Stoicism · Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 1.XIII, tr. Meric Casaubon (1634/1635) ↗

One's own self conquered is better than all other people; not even a god, a Gandharva, not Mara with Brahman could change into defeat the victory of a man who has vanquished himself, and always lives under restraint.

— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 8.v.104–105, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗

Bad deeds, and deeds hurtful to ourselves, are easy to do; what is beneficial and good, that is very difficult to do.

— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 12.v.163, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗

The superior man holds righteousness to be of highest importance. A man in a superior situation, having valour without righteousness, will be guilty of insubordination; one of the lower people having valour without righteousness, will commit robbery.

— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 17.23, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗

For my part, I shall take care, if I can, that my death discover nothing that my life has not first and openly declared.

— Renaissance humanism · Michel de Montaigne, Essays, Chapter VII, tr. Charles Cotton, ed. W. C. Hazlitt, 1877 ↗

The necessity of acting from pure respect for the practical law is what constitutes duty, to which every other motive must give place, because it is the condition of a will being good in itself, and the worth of such a will is above everything.

— The Enlightenment · Immanuel Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals, Universal law test (conclusion), tr. Thomas Kingsmill Abbott, 1873 ↗

The patriot who lays down his life for the safety, or even for the vain-glory of this society, appears to act with the most exact propriety. He appears to view himself in the light in which the impartial spectator naturally and necessarily views him, as but one of the multitude, in the eye of that equitable judge, of no more consequence than any other in it, but bound at all times to sacrifice and devote himself to the safety, to the service, and even to the glory of the greater number.

— The Enlightenment · Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, Chap. II, 1759 ↗

Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

— Hebrew & Christian Bible · Bible, 1 John 3:16, tr. King James Version (1611/1769) ↗

neither fear nor inclination, but simply respect for the law, is the spring which can give actions a moral worth.

— The Enlightenment · Immanuel Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals, Kingdom of Ends, tr. Thomas Kingsmill Abbott, 1873 ↗

The part that true conquering is to play, lies in the encounter, not in the coming off; and the honour of valour consists in fighting, not in subduing.

— Renaissance humanism · Michel de Montaigne, Essays, Of Cannibals, tr. Charles Cotton, ed. W. C. Hazlitt, 1877 ↗

if we imagine, on the one hand, an act of honesty done with steadfast mind, apart from every view to advantage of any kind in this world or another, and even under the greatest temptations of necessity or allurement, and, on the other hand, a similar act which was affected, in however low a degree, by a foreign motive, the former leaves far behind and eclipses the second; it elevates the soul and inspires the wish to be able to act in like manner oneself.

— The Enlightenment · Immanuel Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals, SEC_2, tr. Thomas Kingsmill Abbott, 1873 ↗

Every one ought to make the same vow to himself that the kings of Egypt made their judges solemnly swear, that they would not do anything contrary to their consciences, though never so much commanded to it by themselves.

— Renaissance humanism · Michel de Montaigne, Essays, Of Profit and Honesty, tr. Charles Cotton, ed. W. C. Hazlitt, 1877 ↗

Now an action done from duty must wholly exclude the influence of inclination and with it every object of the will, so that nothing remains which can determine the will except objectively the law, and subjectively pure respect for this practical law, and consequently the maxim that I should follow this law even to the thwarting of all my inclinations.

— The Enlightenment · Immanuel Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals, Third Proposition, tr. Thomas Kingsmill Abbott, 1873 ↗

A man must go to the war upon the account of duty, and expect the recompense that never fails brave and worthy actions, how private soever, or even virtuous thoughts—the satisfaction that a well-disposed conscience receives in itself in doing well. A man must be valiant for himself, and upon account of the advantage it is to him to have his courage seated in a firm and secure place against the assaults of fortune.

— Renaissance humanism · Michel de Montaigne, Essays, Chapter XVI, tr. Charles Cotton, ed. W. C. Hazlitt, 1877 ↗

Duty is the necessity of acting from respect for the law.

— The Enlightenment · Immanuel Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals, Third Proposition, tr. Thomas Kingsmill Abbott, 1873 ↗

Finally, this is better, that one do His own task as he may, even though he fail, Than take tasks not his own, though they seem good. To die performing duty is no ill; But who seeks other roads shall wander still.

— Hinduism · Bhagavad Gita, 3, tr. Edwin Arnold, 1885 ↗

The officer may not be without breadth of mind and vigorous endurance. His burden is heavy and his course is long. Perfect virtue is the burden which he considers it is his to sustain;-- is it not heavy? Only with death does his course stop;-- is it not long?

— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 8.7, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗

the sublimity and intrinsic dignity of the command in duty are so much the more evident, the less the subjective impulses favour it and the more they oppose it, without being able in the slightest degree to weaken the obligation of the law or to diminish its validity.

— The Enlightenment · Immanuel Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals, Section II (on duty and impulse), tr. Thomas Kingsmill Abbott, 1873 ↗

the moral, and therefore categorical, imperative says: "I ought to do so and so, even though I should not wish for anything else." E.g., the former says: "I ought not to lie, if I would retain my reputation"; the latter says: "I ought not to lie, although it should not bring me the least discredit."

— The Enlightenment · Immanuel Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals, Heteronomy of the Will as the Source of all spurious Principles of Morality, tr. Thomas Kingsmill Abbott, 1873 ↗

The man, who in the view of gain, thinks of righteousness; who in the view of danger is prepared to give up his life; and who does not forget an old agreement however far back it extends:-- such a man may be reckoned a COMPLETE man.

— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 14.13, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗

The man of virtue makes the difficulty to be overcome his first business, and success only a subsequent consideration;-- this may be called perfect virtue.

— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 6.20, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗

The virtuous will be sure to speak correctly, but those whose speech is good may not always be virtuous. Men of principle are sure to be bold, but those who are bold may not always be men of principle.

— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 14.5, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗

Wherefore, in this doubt and uncertainty, that the shortsightedness of human wisdom to see and choose the best perplexes us withal, the surest way, in my opinion, did no other consideration invite us to it, is to pitch upon that wherein is the greatest appearance of honesty and justice; and not, being certain of the shortest, to keep the straightest and most direct way.

— Renaissance humanism · Michel de Montaigne, Essays, Essay II (On choosing under uncertainty), tr. Charles Cotton, ed. W. C. Hazlitt, 1877 ↗

Action is with the scholar subordinate, but it is essential. Without it he is not yet man. Without it thought can never ripen into truth. Inaction is cowardice, but there can be no scholar without the heroic mind. Only so much do I know, as I have lived.

— Transcendentalism · Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays, The American Scholar, 1844 ↗

The superior man does not, even for the space of a single meal, act contrary to virtue. In moments of haste, he cleaves to it. In seasons of danger, he cleaves to it.

— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 4.5, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗

The virtue of prosperity, is temperance; the virtue of adversity, is fortitude; which in morals is the more heroical virtue.

— Renaissance humanism · Francis Bacon, The Essays or Counsels, Civil and Moral, Of Adversity, 1625 ↗

For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.

— Hebrew & Christian Bible · Bible, Proverbs 24:16, tr. King James Version (1611/1769) ↗

Let death surprise me when it will, and where it will, I may be εὔμοιρος, or a happy man, nevertheless. For he is a happy man, who in his lifetime dealeth unto himself a happy lot and portion. A happy lot and portion is, good inclinations of the soul, good desires, good actions.

— Stoicism · Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 5.XXX, tr. Meric Casaubon (1634/1635) ↗

Merely a concrete test of the underlying principles of the great republic is the Negro Problem, and the spiritual striving of the freedmen's sons is the travail of souls whose burden is almost beyond the measure of their strength, but who bear it in the name of an historic race, in the name of this the land of their fathers' fathers, and in the name of human opportunity.

— The turn of the century · W. E. B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk, Of Our Spiritual Strivings, 1903 ↗

It was not _color_, but _crime_, not _God_, but _man_, that afforded the true explanation of the existence of slavery; nor was I long in finding out another important truth, viz: what man can make, man can unmake.

— Transcendentalism · Frederick Douglass, My Bondage and My Freedom, Chapter VI, 1855 ↗

Certainly virtue is like precious odors, most fragrant when they are incensed, or crushed: for prosperity doth best discover vice, but adversity doth best discover virtue.

— Renaissance humanism · Francis Bacon, The Essays or Counsels, Civil and Moral, Of Adversity, 1625 ↗

'The way is long; it is, as it were, walking on the sharp edge of a razor, yet despair not. Awake, arise, and stop not until the goal is reached,' say the Vedas.

— The turn of the century · Swami Vivekananda, Jnâna Yoga, The Absolute and Its Manifestations, 1907 ↗

Whatsoever doth happen unto thee, thou art naturally by thy natural constitution either able, or not able to bear. If thou beest able, be not offended, but bear it according to thy natural constitution, or as nature hath enabled thee. If thou beest not able, be not offended. For it will soon make an end of thee, and itself, (whatsoever it be) at the same time end with thee.

— Stoicism · Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 10.III, tr. Meric Casaubon (1634/1635) ↗

If a man takes misfortunes quietly, it is because he knows that very many dreadful things may happen in the course of life; and so he looks upon the trouble of the moment as only a very small part of that which might come. This is the Stoic temper--never to be unmindful of the sad fate of humanity.

— Nineteenth-century philosophy · Arthur Schopenhauer, Counsels and Maxims, Section 51, tr. T. Bailey Saunders, 1890 ↗

He that falls obstinate in his courage — he who, for any danger of imminent death, abates nothing of his assurance; who, dying, yet darts at his enemy a fierce and disdainful look, is overcome not by us, but by fortune; he is killed, not conquered; the most valiant are sometimes the most unfortunate. There are defeats more triumphant than victories.

— Renaissance humanism · Michel de Montaigne, Essays, Of Cannibals, tr. Charles Cotton, ed. W. C. Hazlitt, 1877 ↗

Now a rising group of people are not lifted bodily from the ground like an inert solid mass, but rather stretch upward like a living plant with its roots still clinging in the mould.

— The turn of the century · W. E. B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk, Of the Black Belt, 1903 ↗

Silently shall I endure abuse as the elephant in battle endures the arrow sent from the bow: for the world is ill-natured.

— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 23.v.320, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗

The man who lives in his religious centre of personal energy, and is actuated by spiritual enthusiasms, differs from his previous carnal self in perfectly definite ways. The new ardor which burns in his breast consumes in its glow the lower 'noes' which formerly beset him, and keeps him immune against infection from the entire groveling portion of his nature. Magnanimities once impossible are now easy; paltry conventionalities and mean incentives once tyrannical hold no sway.

— The turn of the century · William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience, Lectures XI, XII, XIII — fruits of the religious state, 1902 ↗

The higher nature in man always seeks for something which transcends itself and yet is its deepest truth; which claims all its sacrifice, yet makes this sacrifice its own recompense. This is man's dharma, man's religion, and man's self is the vessel which is to carry this sacrifice to the altar.

— The turn of the century · Rabindranath Tagore, Sadhana: The Realisation of Life, Chapter 4 (The Problem of Self), 1913 ↗

The Black Belt was not, as many assumed, a movement toward fields of labor under more genial climatic conditions; it was primarily a huddling for self-protection,—a massing of the black population for mutual defence in order to secure the peace and tranquillity necessary to economic advance.

— The turn of the century · W. E. B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk, Of the Black Belt, 1903 ↗

What is called weakness of character seems in most cases to consist in the inaptitude for these sacrificial moods, of which one's own inferior self and its pet softnesses must often be the targets and the victims.

— The turn of the century · William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience, Lectures XI, XII, XIII — psychological generalities, 1902 ↗

The leaders in this faith have had an intuitive belief in the all‐saving power of healthy‐minded attitudes as such, in the conquering efficacy of courage, hope, and trust, and a correlative contempt for doubt, fear, worry, and all nervously precautionary states of mind.

— The turn of the century · William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience, Lecture on Healthy-Mindedness, 1902 ↗

Much of what we call evil is due entirely to the way men take the phenomenon. It can so often be converted into a bracing and tonic good by a simple change of the sufferer's inner attitude from one of fear to one of fight; its sting so often departs and turns into a relish when, after vainly seeking to shun it, we agree to face about and bear it cheerfully, that a man is simply bound in honor, with reference to many of the facts that seem at first to disconcert his peace, to adopt this way of escape.

— The turn of the century · William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience, Lecture on Healthy-Mindedness, 1902 ↗

Titikshâ, forbearance, bearing all miseries without murmuring, without complaining. When an injury comes, do not mind it.

— The turn of the century · Swami Vivekananda, Jnâna Yoga, Section IV, 1907 ↗

"I says, 'Look up! If you don't look up you can't get up,'" remarks Jackson, philosophically. And he's gotten up.

— The turn of the century · W. E. B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk, Of the Black Belt, 1903 ↗

The faults of the superior man are like the eclipses of the sun and moon. He has his faults, and all men see them; he changes again, and all men look up to him.

— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 19.21, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗

Nowhere have I met men and women with a broader spirit of helpfulness, with deeper devotion to their life-work, or with more consecrated determination to succeed in the face of bitter difficulties than among Negro college-bred men.

— The turn of the century · W. E. B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk, Of the Training of Black Men, 1903 ↗

The old doctrine that submission is the very best cure for outrage and wrong, does not hold good on the slave plantation. He is whipped oftenest, who is whipped easiest; and that slave who has the courage to stand up for himself against the overseer, although he may have many hard stripes at the first, becomes, in the end, a freeman, even though he sustain the formal relation of a slave.

— Transcendentalism · Frederick Douglass, My Bondage and My Freedom, Chapter VI, 1855 ↗

when to earth and brute is added an environment of men and ideas, then the attitude of the imprisoned group may take three main forms,—a feeling of revolt and revenge; an attempt to adjust all thought and action to the will of the greater group; or, finally, a determined effort at self-realization and self-development despite environing opinion.

— The turn of the century · W. E. B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk, III. Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others, 1903 ↗

Within us we have a hope which always walks in front of our present narrow experience; it is the undying faith in the infinite in us; it will never accept any of our disabilities as a permanent fact; it sets no limit to its own scope; it dares to assert that man has oneness with God; and its wild dreams become true every day.

— The turn of the century · Rabindranath Tagore, Sadhana: The Realisation of Life, III — The Problem of Evil, 1913 ↗

From the double life every American Negro must live, as a Negro and as an American, as swept on by the current of the nineteenth while yet struggling in the eddies of the fifteenth century,—from this must arise a painful self-consciousness, an almost morbid sense of personality and a moral hesitancy which is fatal to self-confidence.

— The turn of the century · W. E. B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk, Of the Faith of the Fathers, 1903 ↗

Like the silkworm you have built a cocoon around yourself. Who will save you? Cut your own cocoon and come out as the beautiful butterfly, as the free soul. Then alone you will see Truth.

— The turn of the century · Swami Vivekananda, Jnâna Yoga, The Absolute and Its Manifestations, 1907 ↗

If he remembers this, a man will not expect very much from life, but learn to accommodate himself to a world where all is relative and no perfect state exists;--always looking misfortune in the face, and if he cannot avoid it, meeting it with courage.

— Nineteenth-century philosophy · Arthur Schopenhauer, Counsels and Maxims, Section 51, tr. T. Bailey Saunders, 1890 ↗

To overcome difficulties is to experience the full delight of existence, no matter where the obstacles are encountered; whether in the affairs of life, in commerce or business; or in mental effort--the spirit of inquiry that tries to master its subject. There is always something pleasurable in the struggle and the victory.

— Nineteenth-century philosophy · Arthur Schopenhauer, Counsels and Maxims, Section 17, tr. T. Bailey Saunders, 1890 ↗

I had reached the point, at which I was _not afraid to die_. This spirit made me a freeman in _fact_, while I remained a slave in _form_. When a slave cannot be flogged he is more than half free.

— Transcendentalism · Frederick Douglass, My Bondage and My Freedom, Chapter XVII, 1855 ↗

But before that nameless prejudice that leaps beyond all this he stands helpless, dismayed, and well-nigh speechless; before that personal disrespect and mockery, the ridicule and systematic humiliation, the distortion of fact and wanton license of fancy, the cynical ignoring of the better and the boisterous welcoming of the worse, the all-pervading desire to inculcate disdain for everything black, from Toussaint to the devil,—before this there rises a sickening despair that would disarm and discourage any nation save that black host to whom 'discouragement' is an unwritten word.

— The turn of the century · W. E. B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk, Of Our Spiritual Strivings, 1903 ↗

Those who have fully realised the soul have never talked in mournful accents of the sorrowfulness of life or of the bondage of action. Pain and sorrow dismay them not, they are not bowed down to the dust by the weight of their own heart. With the erect head of the victorious hero they march through life seeing themselves and showing themselves in increasing resplendence of soul through both joys and sorrows.

— The turn of the century · Rabindranath Tagore, Sadhana: The Realisation of Life, VI, 1913 ↗

But the hushing of the criticism of honest opponents is a dangerous thing. It leads some of the best of the critics to unfortunate silence and paralysis of effort, and others to burst into speech so passionately and intemperately as to lose listeners.

— The turn of the century · W. E. B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk, III. Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others, 1903 ↗

Faithfully admonish your friend, and skillfully lead him on. If you find him impracticable, stop. Do not disgrace yourself.

— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 12.23, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗

Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

— Hebrew & Christian Bible · Bible, Proverbs 27:6, tr. King James Version (1611/1769) ↗

To have faults and not to reform them,-- this, indeed, should be pronounced having faults.

— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 15.29, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗

Give not place, therefore, to those who treat thee as a liar: They desire thee to deal smoothly with them: then would they be smooth as oil with thee.

— Qur’an · Qur'an, 68:8-9, tr. J. M. Rodwell, 1861 ↗

What is called a great minister, is one who serves his prince according to what is right, and when he finds he cannot do so, retires.

— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 11.23, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗

There are three errors to which they who stand in the presence of a man of virtue and station are liable. They may speak when it does not come to them to speak;-- this is called rashness. They may not speak when it comes to them to speak;-- this is called concealment. They may speak without looking at the countenance of their superior;-- this is called blindness.

— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 16.6, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗

DISSIMULATION is but a faint kind of policy, or wisdom; for it asketh a strong wit, and a strong heart, to know when to tell truth, and to do it. Therefore it is the weaker sort of politics, that are the great dissemblers.

— Renaissance humanism · Francis Bacon, The Essays or Counsels, Civil and Moral, Of Simulation And Dissimulation, 1625 ↗

SAY: Verily none can protect me against God; Neither shall I find any refuge beside Him. My sole work is preaching from God, and His message.

— Qur’an · Qur'an, 72:22-23, tr. J. M. Rodwell, 1861 ↗

And yet more generous was the answer of that great Alexander to Polypercon who was persuading him to take the advantage of the night's obscurity to fall upon Darius. "By no means," said he; "it is not for such a man as I am to steal a victory, 'Malo me fortunae poeniteat, quam victoria pudeat.'"—"I had rather complain of ill-fortune than be ashamed of victory."

— Renaissance humanism · Michel de Montaigne, Essays, Chapter VI, tr. Charles Cotton, ed. W. C. Hazlitt, 1877 ↗

Put thou then thy trust in God: for thou hast clear truth on thy side.

— Qur’an · Qur'an, 27:79, tr. J. M. Rodwell, 1861 ↗

Your friends will tell you that they are sincere; your enemies are really so. Let your enemies' censure be like a bitter medicine, to be used as a means of self-knowledge.

— Nineteenth-century philosophy · Arthur Schopenhauer, Counsels and Maxims, Section 33, tr. T. Bailey Saunders, 1890 ↗

No face which we can give to a matter will stead us so well at last as the truth. This alone wears well. For the most part, we are not where we are, but in a false position. Through an infirmity of our natures, we suppose a case, and put ourselves into it, and hence are in two cases at the same time, and it is doubly difficult to get out. In sane moments we regard only the facts, the case that is. Say what you have to say, not what you ought. Any truth is better than make-believe.

— Transcendentalism · Henry David Thoreau, Walden, and On the Duty of Civil Disobedience, Conclusion, 1854 ↗

To-day the young Negro of the South who would succeed cannot be frank and outspoken, honest and self-assertive, but rather he is daily tempted to be silent and wary, politic and sly; he must flatter and be pleasant, endure petty insults with a smile, shut his eyes to wrong; in too many cases he sees positive personal advantage in deception and lying. His real thoughts, his real aspirations, must be guarded in whispers; he must not criticise, he must not complain. Patience, humility, and adroitness must, in these growing black youth, replace impulse, manliness, and courage.

— The turn of the century · W. E. B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk, Of the Faith of the Fathers, 1903 ↗

Honest and earnest criticism from those whose interests are most nearly touched,—criticism of writers by readers,—this is the soul of democracy and the safeguard of modern society.

— The turn of the century · W. E. B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk, III. Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others, 1903 ↗

He said, "What! do ye then worship, instead of God, that which doth not profit you at all, nor injure you? Fie on you and on that ye worship instead of God! What! do ye not then understand?"

— Qur’an · Qur'an, 21:66-67, tr. J. M. Rodwell, 1861 ↗

No one can be a great thinker who does not recognise, that as a thinker it is his first duty to follow his intellect to whatever conclusions it may lead. Truth gains more even by the errors of one who, with due study and preparation, thinks for himself, than by the true opinions of those who only hold them because they do not suffer themselves to think.

— Nineteenth-century philosophy · John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, Chapter II (excerpt 3, para. 2), 1859 ↗

He acts before he speaks, and afterwards speaks according to his actions.

— Confucianism · Confucius, Analects, 2.13, tr. James Legge, 1893 ↗

the very determination which he expressed to keep me in ignorance, only rendered me the more resolute in seeking intelligence.

— Transcendentalism · Frederick Douglass, My Bondage and My Freedom, Chapter X, 1855 ↗

When he brought to his Lord a perfect heart, When he said to his father and to his people, 'What is this ye worship? Prefer ye with falsehood gods to God?'

— Qur’an · Qur'an, 37:84-86, tr. J. M. Rodwell, 1861 ↗

There cannot a worse state of things be imagined than where wickedness comes to be legitimate, and assumes, with the magistrates' permission, the cloak of virtue.

— Renaissance humanism · Michel de Montaigne, Essays, later section, on civil and religious war, tr. Charles Cotton, ed. W. C. Hazlitt, 1877 ↗

And endure what they say with patience, and depart from them with a decorous departure.

— Qur’an · Qur'an, 73:10, tr. J. M. Rodwell, 1861 ↗

Silently shall I endure abuse as the elephant in battle endures the arrow sent from the bow: for the world is ill-natured.

— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 23.v.320, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗

A man is not just if he carries a matter by violence; no, he who distinguishes both right and wrong, who is learned and leads others, not by violence, but by law and equity, and who is guarded by the law and intelligent, he is called just.

— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 19.v.256–257, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗

Thus it is that dignity finds its (firm) root in its (previous) meanness, and what is lofty finds its stability in the lowness (from which it rises). Hence princes and kings call themselves 'Orphans,' 'Men of small virtue,' and as 'Carriages without a nave.' Is not this an acknowledgment that in their considering themselves mean they see the foundation of their dignity?

— Taoism · Tao Te Ching, 33-40.39, tr. James Legge, 1891 ↗

They who preserve this method of the Tao do not wish to be full (of themselves). It is through their not being full of themselves that they can afford to seem worn and not appear new and complete.

— Taoism · Tao Te Ching, 9-16.15, tr. James Legge, 1891 ↗

Though he has his place above them, men do not feel his weight, nor though he has his place before them, do they feel it an injury to them. Therefore all in the world delight to exalt him and do not weary of him. Because he does not strive, no one finds it possible to strive with him.

— Taoism · Tao Te Ching, 65-72.66, tr. James Legge, 1891 ↗

A skilful (commander) strikes a decisive blow, and stops. He does not dare (by continuing his operations) to assert and complete his mastery. He will strike the blow, but will be on his guard against being vain or boastful or arrogant in consequence of it. He strikes it as a matter of necessity; he strikes it, but not from a wish for mastery.

— Taoism · Tao Te Ching, 25-32.30, tr. James Legge, 1891 ↗

He is free from self-display, and therefore he shines; from self-assertion, and therefore he is distinguished; from self-boasting, and therefore his merit is acknowledged; from self-complacency, and therefore he acquires superiority. It is because he is thus free from striving that therefore no one in the world is able to strive with him.

— Taoism · Tao Te Ching, 17-24.22, tr. James Legge, 1891 ↗

Therefore the sage puts his own person last, and yet it is found in the foremost place; he treats his person as if it were foreign to him, and yet that person is preserved. Is it not because he has no personal and private ends, that therefore such ends are realised?

— Taoism · Tao Te Ching, 1-8.7, tr. James Legge, 1891 ↗

He who has killed multitudes of men should weep for them with the bitterest grief; and the victor in battle has his place (rightly) according to those rites.

— Taoism · Tao Te Ching, 25-32.31, tr. James Legge, 1891 ↗

He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.

— Hebrew & Christian Bible · Bible, Proverbs 16:32, tr. King James Version (1611/1769) ↗

Therefore the sage is (like) a square which cuts no one (with its angles); (like) a corner which injures no one (with its sharpness). He is straightforward, but allows himself no license; he is bright, but does not dazzle.

— Taoism · Tao Te Ching, 57-64.58, tr. James Legge, 1891 ↗

The violent and strong do not die their natural death. I will make this the basis of my teaching.

— Taoism · Tao Te Ching, 41-48.42, tr. James Legge, 1891 ↗

There is nothing in the world more soft and weak than water, and yet for attacking things that are firm and strong there is nothing that can take precedence of it. Every one in the world knows that the soft overcomes the hard, and the weak the strong, but no one is able to carry it out in practice.

— Taoism · Tao Te Ching, 73-80.78, tr. James Legge, 1891 ↗

Gentleness is sure to be victorious even in battle, and firmly to maintain its ground. Heaven will save its possessor, by his (very) gentleness protecting him.

— Taoism · Tao Te Ching, 65-72.67, tr. James Legge, 1891 ↗

The soft overcomes the hard; and the weak the strong.

— Taoism · Tao Te Ching, 33-40.36, tr. James Legge, 1891 ↗

Those sharp weapons are instruments of evil omen, and not the instruments of the superior man;--he uses them only on the compulsion of necessity. Calm and repose are what he prizes; victory (by force of arms) is to him undesirable. To consider this desirable would be to delight in the slaughter of men; and he who delights in the slaughter of men cannot get his will in the kingdom.

— Taoism · Tao Te Ching, 25-32.31, tr. James Legge, 1891 ↗

Man at his birth is supple and weak; at his death, firm and strong. (So it is with) all things. Trees and plants, in their early growth, are soft and brittle; at their death, dry and withered. Thus it is that firmness and strength are the concomitants of death; softness and weakness, the concomitants of life.

— Taoism · Tao Te Ching, 73-80.76, tr. James Legge, 1891 ↗

meekness is a thing unconquerable, if it be true and natural, and not affected or hypocritical. For how shall even the most fierce and malicious that thou shalt conceive, be able to hold on against thee, if thou shalt still continue meek and loving unto him?

— Stoicism · Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 11.XVI, tr. Meric Casaubon (1634/1635) ↗

The softest thing in the world dashes against and overcomes the hardest; that which has no (substantial) existence enters where there is no crevice. I know hereby what advantage belongs to doing nothing (with a purpose).

— Taoism · Tao Te Ching, 41-48.43, tr. James Legge, 1891 ↗

The Awakened call patience the highest penance, long-suffering the highest Nirvana; for he is not an anchorite (pravragita) who strikes others, he is not an ascetic (sramana) who insults others.

— Buddhism · Dhammapada, 14.v.184, tr. F. Max Müller, 1881 ↗

Turn aside evil with that which is better: we best know what they utter against thee.

— Qur’an · Qur'an, 23:96, tr. J. M. Rodwell, 1861 ↗

There is no calamity greater than lightly engaging in war. To do that is near losing (the gentleness) which is so precious. Thus it is that when opposing weapons are (actually) crossed, he who deplores (the situation) conquers.

— Taoism · Tao Te Ching, 65-72.69, tr. James Legge, 1891 ↗

The female always overcomes the male by her stillness. Stillness may be considered (a sort of) abasement.

— Taoism · Tao Te Ching, 57-64.61, tr. James Legge, 1891 ↗

Favour and disgrace would seem equally to be feared; honour and great calamity, to be regarded as personal conditions (of the same kind).

— Taoism · Tao Te Ching, 9-16.13, tr. James Legge, 1891 ↗

I have three precious things which I prize and hold fast. The first is gentleness; the second is economy; and the third is shrinking from taking precedence of others. With that gentleness I can be bold; with that economy I can be liberal; shrinking from taking precedence of others, I can become a vessel of the highest honour.

— Taoism · Tao Te Ching, 65-72.67, tr. James Legge, 1891 ↗