Tradition is a mighty factor in the production of courage. To
feel that something is expected of one because one's ancestors
lived up to a high standard becomes a guiding feeling in life.
Not to be inferior, not to disappoint expectation, to maintain
the tradition that a "So-and-So" never shows the white feather,
makes, heroes of the soldiers of famous regiments, of firemen and
policemen, of priests, of the scions of distinguished families,
aye, even of races. To every man in the grip of a glorious
tradition it seems as if those back of him are not really dead,
as if they stand with him, and speak with his voice and act in
his deeds. The doctor who knows of the martyrs of his profession
and knows that in the code of his calling there are no diseases
he must hesitate to face, goes with equanimity where others who
are braver in facing death of other kinds do not dare to enter.
Courage is competitive, courage is cooperative, as is every other
phase of the mental life of men. We gather courage as we watch a
fellow worker face his danger with a brave spirit, for we will
not be outdone. Amour propre will not permit us to cringe or give
in, though we are weary to death of a struggle. But also we
thrill with a common feeling at the sight of the hero holding his
own, we are enthused by it, we wish to be with him; and his
shining example moves us to a fellowship in courage. We find
courage in the belief that others are "with us," whether that
courage faces physical or moral danger. To be "with" a man is to
more than double his resources of strength, intelligence and
courage; it is more than an addition, for it multiplies all his
virtues and eliminates his defects. The sum total is the Hero. I
wonder if there really ever has been a truly lonely hero, if
always there has not been some one who said, "I have faith in
you; I am with you!" If a man has lacked human backing, he has
said to himself, "The Highest of all is with me, though I seem to
stand alone. God gives me courage!"
In a profoundly intellectual way, courage depends on a feeling
that one is useful, not futile. Men lose courage, in the sense of
brave and determined effort, when it seems as if progress has
ceased and their place in the world has disappeared. This one
sees frequently in middle-aged men, who find themselves relegated
to secondary places by younger men, who feel that they are
slipping and soon will be dependents.
Hope, the foreseeing of a possible success, is necessary for most
courage, though now and then despair acts with a courage that is
largely pride. The idea of a future world has given more courage
to man in his difficulties than all other conceptions together,
for the essence of the belief in immortality is to transfer hope
and success from the tangle of this world to the clear,
untroubled heavenly other world.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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