Richard Whately Quotes

Courage and folly are cousins, or so I’ve heard.

In civil business; what first? boldness; what second and third? boldness: and yet boldness is a child of ignorance and baseness.

Sometimes angels rush in where fools fear to tread.

Many will call me an adventurer - and that I am, only one of a different sort: one of those who risks his skin to prove his platitudes.

I suppose that's the European way, dangerous and hairy.

Great men of action... never mind on occasion being ridiculous; in a sense it is part of their job, and at times they all are.

Sometimes you need to play with a knife between your teeth.

I like to fly close to the edge. I like to play with fire.

The less you know about a field, the better your odds. Dumb boldness is the best way to approach a new challenge.

The human race afraid of nothing, rushes on through every crime.

If you are ignorant enough, you can walk like a cat on the slippery roof-ridge of danger.

To be rash is to be bold without shame and without skill.

The difference between a brave man and a coward is a coward thinks twice before jumping in the cage with a lion. The brave man doesn't know what a lion is. He just thinks he does.

I'm so optimistic, I'd go after Moby Dick in a rowboat and take the tartar sauce with me.

Danger is cool.

You must play boldly to win.

Believe me - I've done very good stuff and very crazy stuff, and I don't regret the crazy stuff.

I've never been afraid of much, and like any normal kid, I liked to push the limits of what I could do.

I would say my sense of adventure outweighs my grace.

For me, one of the things that I get excited about is getting in situations I shouldn't be in.

I'll take any risk there is.

Temerity is not always successful.

I'm not nearly as outrageously brave as many of my rascals that I write. But I think the rascal spirit must reside in me somewhere.

You can't test courage cautiously.

In battle, you forgive a man anything except an unwillingness to take risks. Sometimes you have to put it on the line.