Great Hero Quotes

• True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.

  Arthur Ashe

  Memorial Day, Courage, Hero

  "Worth Repeating: More Than 5,000 Classic and Contemporary Quotes" by Bob Kelly, p. 169, 2003.

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• The characteristic of genuine heroism is its persistency. All men have wandering impulses, fits and starts of generosity. But when you have resolved to be great, abide by yourself, and do not weakly try to reconcile yourself with the world. The heroic cannot be the common, nor the common the heroic.

  Ralph Waldo Emerson

  Hero, Men, Generosity

  Ralph Waldo Emerson (2010). “Essays and English Traits by Ralph Waldo Emerson: The Five Foot Shelf of Classics, Vol. V (in 51 Volumes)”, p.133, Cosimo, Inc.

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  A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.

  Christopher Reeve

  Inspirational, Motivational, Strength

  "Still Me". Book by Christopher Reeve, 1999.

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• A hero is a man who is afraid to run away.

  Ralph Waldo Emerson

  Running, Hero, Men

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• Aspire rather to be a hero than merely appear one.

  Baltasar Gracian

  Sports, Memorial Day, Hero

  Baltasar Gracian, Baltasar Gracián y Morales (2004). “The Art of Worldly Wisdom”, p.169, Shambhala Publications

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• A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer.

  Ralph Waldo Emerson

  Love, Inspirational, Motivational

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• The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example.

  Benjamin Disraeli

  Inspiring, Sports, Memorial Day

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• Everyone is necessarily the hero of his own life story.

  John Barth

  Sports, Hero, Stories

  "How to Seek Heroism in Demands" by Grande Lum, www.huffingtonpost.com. April 10, 2009.

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• A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.

  Joseph Campbell

  Life, Inspiring, Veterans Day

  Joseph Campbell, Bill Moyers (2011). “The Power of Myth”, p.151, Anchor

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• The hero is commonly the simplest and obscurest of men.

  Henry David Thoreau

  Hero, Men, Firefighter

  Henry David Thoreau, Robert Lawrence France, Thoreau Society (2001). “Thoreau on Water: Reflecting Heaven”, p.16, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

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• The real hero is always a hero by mistake.

  Umberto Eco

  Real, Mistake, Hero

  Umberto Eco (2014). “Travels in Hyperreality”, p.133, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

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• I am of certain convinced that the greatest heroes are those who do their duty in the daily grind of domestic affairs whilst the world whirls as a maddening dreidel.

  Florence Nightingale

  Hero, Nursing, Nurse

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• The hero is one who kindles a great light in the world, who sets up blazing torches in the dark streets of life for men to see by. The saint is the man who walks through the dark paths of the world, himself a light.

  Felix Adler

  Being Yourself, Hero, Dark

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• We can't all be heroes, because somebody has to sit on the curb and applaud when they go by.

  Will Rogers

  Inspirational, Motivational, Hero

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• The ordinary man is involved in action, the hero acts. An immense difference.

  Henry Miller

  Hero, Men, Differences

  Henry Miller (1969). “Mémoires, Plaidoiries Et Documents”, p.167, New Directions Publishing

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• I think of a hero as someone who understands the degree of responsibility that comes with his freedom.

  Bob Dylan

  Courage, Freedom, Hero

  Interview published with the "Biograph" album set, 1985.

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• The real hero is always a hero by mistake; he dreams of being an honest coward like everybody else.

  Umberto Eco

  Sports, Dream, Real

  Umberto Eco (2014). “Travels in Hyperreality”, p.133, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

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• Heroism is the divine relation which, in all times, unites a great man to other men.

  Thomas Carlyle

  Time, Hero, Men

  Thomas Carlyle (1840). “On Heroes, Hero-worship and the Heroic in History”, p.4

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• Show me a hero and I'll write you a tragedy.

  F. Scott Fitzgerald

  Life, Hero, Writing

  The Crack-Up "Note-Books" (1945)

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• Great heroes need great sorrows and burdens, or half their greatness goes unnoticed. It is all part of the fairy tale.

  Peter S. Beagle

  Inspirational, Hero, Writing

  Peter S. Beagle (2003). “A fine and private place: The last unicorn”

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• If we might be able to save this world, how can we walk away? Too many people around here have given up! Galloran said heroes sacrifice for causes; they do things that others hide from. I may not be some great hero, but I won’t hide from this. I would never live with myself.

  Brandon Mull

  Hero, Sacrifice, People

  Brandon Mull (2013). “Brandon Mull's Beyonders Trilogy: A World Without Heroes; Seeds of Rebellion; Chasing the Prophecy”, p.278, Simon and Schuster

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• The thing about grown ups is that they're always wanting you to be this Great Hero and Leader. What's wrong with being NORMAL, for Thor's sake? What's wrong with just being SO-SO at stuff? They're just totally unrealistic.

  Cressida Cowell

  Hero, Leader, Stuff

  Cressida Cowell (2017). “How To Train Your Dragon: How to Steal a Dragon's Sword”, p.20, Hachette UK

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• But if one could go back in time, I'd love to have been directed by Howard Hawks, who's one of my great heroes. One of the greatest directors there ever was. He directed probably one of the greatest westerns of all time in 'Rio Bravo'.

  Stephen Fry

  Hero, Directors, Hawks

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• For that, one has to drop all the masks, one has to risk many things, particularly respectability. That is a bribe by the society. It will give you a Nobel prize and it will give you many honours; it will do everything to make you feel great, if you can fulfil one condition: if you are obedient, obedient like a robot, then all respect is for you. Then the society will make you a great hero, but there will be no grace, no beauty, no freedom, no truth, no being; you have committed a real suicide.

  Rajneesh

  Suicide, Real, Hero

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• All great heroes have a flaw. It's one of the things that makes them heroes.

  Jennifer McMahon

  Hero, Flaws

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