quote · Legacy record
True courage is not moved by breath of words; While the rash bravery of boiling blood, Impetuous, knows no settled principle. A feverish tide, it has its ebbs and flows, As spirits rise or fall, as wine inflames, Or circumstances change: but inborn courage, The generous child of fortitude and faith, Holds its firm empire in the constant soul; And like the steadfast pole-star, never once From the same fixed and faithful point declines.
True courage is not moved by breath of words; While the rash bravery of boiling blood, Impetuous, knows no settled principle. A feverish tide, it has its ebbs and flows, As spirits rise or fall, as wine inflames, Or circumstances change: but inborn courage, The generous child of fortitude and faith, Holds its firm empire in the constant soul; And like the steadfast pole-star, never once From the same fixed and faithful point declines.
Approximate author period: c. 1789 AD · early modern
Meaning not yet available
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Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Hannah More
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
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- Approximate author period: c. 1789 AD · early modern
author lifetime midpoint (1745–1833)
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- A Cyclopædia of Sacred Poetical Quotations (catalogued1888) (1888 AD)
Page 150 · printed citation: Hannah More · subject: COURAGE
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