Leigh Hunt Quotes

Why is it that, among men, physical courage is a trait so plenteous yet moral courage is a trait so rare?

It seemed incredible to me, that physical courage should be so commonplace and revered, while moral courage . . . is so rare and despised.

Nothing emboldens the wicked so greatly as the lack of courage on the part of the good.

Courage doesn't always involve physical heroism in the face of death. It doesn't always require giant leaps worthy of celebration. Sometimes, courage is the willingness to speak the truth about what you see and to own what you say.

It can take greater courage to stand in opposition to the views of your neighbors or nation than to confront an enemy in combat.

Courage is the ability to do the right thing, all the time, no matter how painful or uncomfortable it might be.

Moral courage is the highest expression of humanity.

Be moral. Be brave. Be a heart-whole man, strictly moral, brave unto desperation. Don't bother your head with religious theories. Cowards only sin, brave men never, no, not even in mind.

Faced with what is right, to leave it undone shows a lack of courage.

To see the right and not to do it is cowardice.

Political courage is not political suicide.

The greatest want of the world is the want of men - men who will not be bought or sold; men who in their inmost souls are true and honest; men who do not fear to call sin by its right name; men whose conscience is as true to duty as the needle to the pole; men who will stand for the right though the heavens fall.

To me, integrity means always doing what is right and good, regardless of the immediate consequences. It means being righteous from the very depth of our soul, not only in our actions but, more importantly, in our thoughts and in our hearts.

Political courage reads well in editorials, but it doesn't translate into political reality.

Courage doesn't come by doing what everybody else says. Courage does by what you know is right.

Moral courage is the most valuable and usually the most absent characteristic in men

You are so afraid of losing your moral sense that you are not willing to take it through anything more dangerous than a mud-puddle.

Courage was America's watchword, but a courage of the body rather than of the soul - physical courage, not moral.

I do not regret having braved public opinion, when I knew it was wrong and was sure it would be merciless.

The hero is valorous because he stands up to every threat directed against his values. Heroism requires value conflict.

There is too much animal courage in society and not sufficient moral courage.

Men have died in torture chambers, on the stake, in concentration camps, in front of firing squads, rather than renounce their convictions. The appeaser renounces his under the pressure of a frown on a vacant face.

Courage is virtue which champions the cause of right.

From long familiarity, we know what honor is. It is what enables the individual to do right in the face of complacency and cowardice. It is what enables the soldier to die alone, the political prisoner to resist, the singer to sing her song, hardly appreciated, on a side street.

Lord, give me the wisdom to know what's right and the courage to do what's right-even when it's hard.