Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1871-02-23

Courage.

one might fancy Il was fixed, permanent
quality ;sOH the contrary, there Is nothing
so fiuctuating and 50 dependent on varying
external circumstances. There are not
only many degrees, but many kinds of
courage-individua and corporate courage,
the courage of stupidity and of intelli-
gence, Of hope and despair. And not only
are there all these varieties of courage, but
the same man may possess, or be possessed
by all of them at different moments. 1t
was the surviving Zouaves Who fought 30
desperately at Worth, who ran away so
disgracef1lly at Paris. In the SANG Jour-
nal we read.that the Mobiles with Carl
baldi in the East of France are skulking
in bitches, scampering Oft across fields, or
fiinging themselves on the ground m alb
iect terror, while other Mobiles at Brie
and Champigny, on the Marine, are attack
ing the Germaps with impetuous and per-
sistent daring Yet in both cases the Mo-
biles were drawn from the same stock, and
If their positions had been exchanged
would doubtless have behaved in the same
way. Indeed, many of the very Mobiles
who ran away from Orleans in the first
instance, displayed great bravery when
first led back to Orleans by DAurelle, but
again lost heart gradually in the three
DAYS fighting. The behavior of body
of troops is by no means an accurate
measure of the personal bravery Of the in
dividuais composing it, or even Of the ma
iority of them. The courage corporate
which "drags the coward to heroic DEATH"
is a familiar feature in the private history
of armies. 1t may require more audacity to
run away under the eye of comrades
than to stop and fight; but beyond this,
there is an infectious spirit Of bravery
which is irresistible, and of which q very
little leavening may, at a propitious mo-
ment be sufficient to leaven the whole
mass Fear is equally contagious; and
just as many poor creature has been car
ried forward helpless, and unwilling, by
the mere force Of the surrounding enthusi-
asm, into some heroic exploit, so have
brave men been similarly swept away in a
tide of panic. 1t the plain, unvarnished
history of any war were written, not the
least startling page would be that which
recorded the large and continued deser-
tions which are always thinning an army
in the field. In the Crimea, numbers of
men used to break away from our own
regiments, sometimes with their sergeants
at their head. Inall armies it is the same.
The truth is, that personal courage, in the
ordinary, sense Of not being afraid, is by
no means so common, nor, where 1t does
exist, is it necessarily so noble and re-
spectacle a quality AS it is usually reck-
oned. Whether a man is or is not afraid
at particular moment may depend not
at all on his permanent character, but on
quite. accidental and temporary cicum-
stances. Dutch courage is genuine and
effective enough while II lasts, though arti-
fetal in origin and of brief duration.
Perhaps the commonest kind of courage
is that Of sheer stupidity-the blind man
on the edge of the precipice trudging gaily
along under the impression that it is a
safe highway, and ignorant Of the yawn-
ing gulf beside him. What is called pres
ence of mind is often no better than this,
though in its true form, including full
appreciation of the dangers of the situa-
ton, it is one of the highest kinds of
bravery. 1t was favorite boast Of the
First Napoleon that he had the "2-oclock-
n-the-morning courage"-that unprepared,
impromptu courage which is never dis
concerted by any startling event, but main
tains perfect capacity to decide what is
best to be done. With Napoleon this was
an established habit of mind, a second ma
ture, due in degree to his faith in fate.
He backed his luck, as it were believed,
as matter of course, that there was for
him, if not for other. people, always some
way out of every difficulty and danger,
and SO gave himself time to think what
steps to take Whatever fitful resemblance
there may be between Napoleon III. and
his uncle in audacity of conception, nobody
who has studied the character and career
of the former can doubt that he has none
of that presence of mind which is essential
to success in the critical moments of dar-
ing adventure; as witness his utter collapse
on the first strokes of evil fortune at
Worth and Wissemburg.
, While, however, there are all these diff
ferent varieties of courage, they will be
found on analysis to rest on the same
basis, and that basis is mental conviction.
Courage, in fact, is much lessa moral than
mental quality-it is only more or less
instructive and unconscious process of
reasoning. The degree of courage with
which man throws himself into any en-
terprise will always depend on his con
fidence that the object in view is within
reach and Of value commensurate with
the effort to attain 1t. When you say that
man is brave, you do not mean merely
that he is utterly reckless of his
person anu Hc-Tc8uy, lOI example, W
Jump of the roof of house into the street,
or over bridge, on any trifing ,provoca-
ton. If he were of this character he
would be not brave man, but only mad
man. 1t is assumed that his bravery is
reasonable-that is to say, that it will be
exercised according to the dictates Of rea-
son, and for objects which, from his point
of view, seem worthy Of the peril he en-
counters. And here it is that the mental
process comes into play. What is rea.
sonable object in such a case? Some will
decide one way, some another; and Of
course there is courage in answering the
question as well as in acting upon the
conclusions arrived at Moral or physical
conditions will naturally affect the judg-
mcnt in such q matter; dram of rum or
raki, q rousing bulletin, fit Of fanatical
fervor, may produce state Of mind which
makes light Of danger and magnifes the
importance Of the object for which It has
to be faced. Low diet and cold mood
Of reflection will operate the other way.
According to one definition, courage Is
only synonym for hopefulness, and no
doubt the more sangulne man Is the
more courageous he will be--so long, that
il, as his sanguine, confident state Of mind
endures, the besctting danger of this mood
being that it is apt to give way suddenly
and s,ttor1v is1of in v,rOnnrfion tn ita nrpvi.