Heroism Quotes

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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 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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• No one is so cowardly that Love could not inspire him to heroism.

  Plato

  Inspire, Cowardly

  Marcus Aurelius, Plato, Aristotle (2012). “The Modern Library Collection of Greek and Roman Philosophy 3-Book Bundle: Meditations; Selected Dialogues of Plato; The Basic Works of Aristotle”, p.656, Modern Library

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• 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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• True heroism consists in being superior to the ills of life, in whatever shape they may challenge us to combat.

  Napoleon Bonaparte

  Life, Sports, Hero

  24 Copy quote

• In short, heroism means doing the right thing regardless of the consequences.

  Brandon Mull

  Mean, Doing The Right Thing, Consequence

  Brandon Mull (2012). “A World Without Heroes”, p.110, Simon and Schuster

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• 

  It doesn't take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle.

  Norman Schwarzkopf

  Inspiring, Courage, Veterans Day

  Norman Schwarzkopf (2010). “It Doesn't Take a Hero: The Autobiography of General Norman Schwarzkopf”, p.13, Bantam

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• Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.

  C. S. Lewis

  Courage, Army, Bravery

  In Cyril Connolly 'The Unquiet Grave' (1944) ch. 31

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• Nurture your minds with great thoughts. To believe in the heroic makes heroes.

  Benjamin Disraeli

  Life, Positive, Veterans Day

  Benjamin Disraeli (1844). “Coningsby: Or, The New Generation”, p.111, London : H. Colburn

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• There are heroes in evil as well as in good.

  Francois de La Rochefoucauld

  Hero, Evil, Wells

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• In a truly heroic life there is no peradventure. It is always doing or dying.

  Roswell Dwight Hitchcock

  Hero, Dying, Heroic

  9 Copy quote
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  We don't have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in the process of change. Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.

  Howard Zinn

  Inspirational, Life, Change

  Howard Zinn (2010). “You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train: A Personal History of Our Times”, p.208, Beacon Press

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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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• Heroism is not only in the man, but in the occasion.

  Calvin Coolidge

  Memorial Day, Hero, Patriotic

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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 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 feels and never reasons, and therefore is always right.

  Ralph Waldo Emerson

  Military, Hero, History

  Ralph Waldo Emerson (1983). “Essays and Lectures”, p.374, Library of America

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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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• Heroism is endurance for one moment more.

  George F. Kennan

  Hero, Marine, Endurance

  63 Copy quote

• What makes a hero truly great is that they never despair.

  Roy Thompson

  Hero, Despair

  8 Copy quote
• 

  There is a certain enthusiasm in liberty, that makes human nature rise above itself, in acts of bravery and heroism.

  Alexander Hamilton

  Hero, Patriotic, Bravery

  Alexander Hamilton, Donald R. Hickey, Connie D. Clark (2006). “Citizen Hamilton: The Wit and Wisdom of an American Founder”, p.87, Rowman & Littlefield

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• A man can be a hero if he is a scientist, or a soldier, or a drug addict, or a disc jockey, or a crummy mediocre politician. A man can be a hero because he suffers and despairs; or because he thinks logically and analytically; or because he is "sensitive"; or because he is cruel. Wealth establishes a man as a hero, and so does poverty. Virtually any circumstance in a man's life will make him a hero to some group of people and has a mythic rendering in the culture - in literature, art, theater, or the daily newspapers.

  Andrea Dworkin

  Art, Hero, Men

  "Our Blood". Book by Andrea Dworkin, 1976.

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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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• Sometimes standing against evil is more important than defeating it. The greatest heroes stand because it is right to do so, not because they believe they will walk away with their lives. Such selfless courage is a victory in itself.

  N.D. Wilson

  Courage, Believe, Hero

  N. D. Wilson (2009). “Dandelion Fire: Book 2 of the 100 Cupboards”, p.173, Random House Books for Young Readers

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• Heroism is the brilliant triumph of the soul over the flesh - over fear...Heroism is the dazzling and glorious concentration of courage.

  Henri Frederic Amiel

  Soul, Triumph, Flesh

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