The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1889-01-09
GENUINE COURAGE.
HAS NOTHING IN COMMON WITH
DISPLAY OR BRAVADo.

Mere Combatlveness Not an Uncommon
Nor an Exalted Quality--The Bulldogs
Idiocy-Napoleon at waterloo-Heroism
of Every Day Life.
Courage, In any genuine sense, does not
wantonly court danger. On the other hand,
it does not shrink from or avoid danger,
when there is any occasion to meet it. Ithas
a worthy purpose and adheres to it unswerv-
ingly, not counting cost or consequences.
More mental and moral than physical, it has
nothing in common with display or bravado.
1t is so quiet and modest that it might be
mistaken by surface seers for want of conf
dence, even for timidity 1t runs no risk for
the sake of risk; it wastes no ammunition to
make noise and smoke; it burns powder only
TO speed the ball to its mark. The most
courageous do not advertise themselves be-
forehand; they calmly await the test, willing
that it should speak for them. They are sell
dom imagined to be what they are under or
binary circumstances They keep their own
secret, which they may not suspect them
selves until requirement calls it forth. They
are devoted to duty; where it commands
they follow against fearful odds, leading for
lorn hopes, charging in the face of death,
sustained and stimulated by conviction of
right
Many peoples, Anglo-Saxons notably, at
tach undue Importance to what they esteem
to DO bravery, meaning combativeness in
general. In our own country we are con.
tinually hearing the expressions, "He will
fight,n "They are fighters 'They won't
give it up without lighting" as if combative-
ness were the highest human endowment,
as if its possession would compensate for the
absence of any number of virtues Combat
iveness is not an uncommon nor an exalted
quality. 1t belongs as rule to all savages,
it is physical trait of undevelopment. The
tiger is neither noble nor intelligent, but in
fighting powers he is not surpassed by any
beast
IDIocy OF THE BULLDOG.
The bulldog is extremely repulsive In APP
pearance, and so superlatively stupid that
he is generally regarded as canine idiot.
But he has not an equal in the animal king
dom as to fighting propensity, being as desti-
tute of fear as he is of brains. When he
seizes anything with his teeth his jaws often
cannot be pried apart. He has been known
to suffer death without losing his hold. He
actually has not intelligence enough to de-
sist from what he is doing. His instinct is
absorbed and exhausted by pugnacity. He
has been praised for his readiness to attack
any animal whatever its size and strength.
The impelling agency is not boldness, but
idiocy. By the common estimate he should
be chosen king of beasts. Men who are per-
petually prating of their pugnacity, and
their joy In showing it, would be like the
bulldog il they were not generally poltroons.
They resemble him minus his ferocity.
Bravery-temperamen disdain of danger
or death-may be, probably is, unusual, but
courage belongs to nearly all educated men,
to whole nations, even to races. Its absence
is with them an astonishing exception. In
stead OF being heroic, it is really general.
We must always judge of courage by its ef-
feet. Men who have appeared dauntless in a
score of deperate battles lave privately con-
fessed that they were often timid. They
doubtless told the exact truth. Courage Is
frequently, if not commonly, a matter of
education of wontedness. This is seen in the
conduct of raw troops wien first under fire.
They almost always are unsteady, liable to
be thrown INTO confusion But after Ger.
tain amount of military experience they will
charge battery without wavering.
EVOLUTION OF COURAGE.
The soldier, at his virgin battle, is likely
to think that every shot fired brings down a
man. He alters his opinion when he learns
that an amount of metal equal to the average
human weight is required to produce casu-
atty. His whole military education concurs
to increase his frmness He who may play
the poltroon at the outset of campaign may
be hero at the close. Frederick II, the
most eminent general Of his time, and one OF
the most intrepid of men, ran away from his
first battle. Mollintz was won, but the com
mander had fed. Napoleon, who had In
vincible faith in his star, who had changed
the destiny Of nations, who was the greatest
Of captains, lost spirit completely when be
saw himself hopelessly defeated at Waterloo.
and was found wandering aimlessly on the
feld, dazed and stunned. His prodigious
courage had been driven out at last by an
irretrievable reverse
Courage varies with our mood and circum.
stances; but, backed by will and pride and
faith in our cause, the outcome may be
trusted. 1t is less demanded in war than in
peace, which is incessant combat with un.
martial weapons Every day brings its
trials, its temptations, its dangers, and to
oppose them courage Is indispensable. He
who Is deficient In 1t must go the rear or be
drummed out Of camp. The world will not
keep those who skulk or fly. The survival OF
the fttest Is but another phase, for the battle
is to the strong 1t is harder to live than tc
die; death is only single pang; life is often
long series Of woes. Reason and science
have robbed death Of its theological terrors
but modern civilization has made life SO com
plex, wearing and arduous, that the exercise
Of steady courage alone can sustain it. Ev
cry man who lives out his natural life use
fully and honorably, however obscure hi
may be, is hero. Only he knows what hs
Is compelled to be, to do, to suffer, and ht
achieves the end solely by the evolution Of
courage.-Junius Henri Browne In Globe