The independent. [volume] (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907, 1904-07-21
Brave Men And cowards.

been known. upon his return home
with the trophies of his prOweSS, not
infrequently to show himself a man
who does not dare to oppose the wrong
fad of an hour or a popular polltical
belief. England, the nation OF sports
men gave a strange exhibition OF this
trait of humanity during the Boer
war. But a very few men, at the head
of whom stood the prophet w. 1.
Stead, dared to antagOnize the lingo
cries. After mobs had smashed the
windows in the houses of few OF the
most outspoken, there was immediate
ly noticeable throughout England an
absence of men who cared to encoun-
ter the opprobrium of advocating UNI
popular justice, and the condemnation
of their enthusiastically warlike
neighbors-who were quite willing to
go in large crowds and make demon
strations against single individuals.
In France during the revolution, we
had another curious phase of courage.
There were men, and many of them,
who did not dare to set themselves in
opposition to the dictates of their
class, though they might have saved
France by timely exhibition OF their
beliefs, who later on marched from
the prison to the guillotine with a
light-heartedness and insOuciance that
showed physical courage OF the high
est type. So confusing are these con-
Predictions, that we come almost to
wonder what the word courage really
means.
Perhaps its vagaTies are best ex-
hibited in that cartoon OF Life"
which shows lion-tamer, who has
returned at late hour and fears to
encounter his spouse, going into the
cage of the lion for his nights rest,
and being discovered presently the
woman looking through the bars and
exclaiming, ooh! you coward" And
this cartoon is founded upon not rare
idiosyncrasies of courage.
We then reach point where we ask
ourselves.
Am | brave man, or am cow
ard?
For instance, does my courage ex-
tend to the point of telling the truth
when l lose advantage by such a
course; or do prove myself liar
through cowardice?
If see fellow man drowning, am
l sufficiently brave to risk my own life
in his rescue?
If am in society where an opin-
ion that / hold to be based on truth
is vigorously denounced, have | the
courage to defend it?
0r III 7 c1iuk0 CJipk ic q oCnd ucyI
though not very nice one. 1t is not
pleasant to imagine oneself as
slinker.
And il a fire were occurring in the
adjoining house, would be willing to
incur the risks of suffocation in order
to rescue woman who might other
wise perish ?-and if | did this, would
on the next day give smiling as
sent to the suggestion of my employer
that | should vote ticket which |
believed to be not for the best inter-
ests OF the community?
If | have long-founded belief,
which has been disturbed by argu-
ment, am / of that mental caliber
which bravely goes to meet demoli-
ton of my views, preferring to en-
counter shock to these conceptions?
Or do mentally stink and carefully
run away from disturbing thought?
In other words, am / coward?
True courage is component part
of so many things that it is worth our
while to examine.
For instance, no man can be truly
a gentleman If coward. He may
have the exterior marks of a gentle
mantle veneering-but at heart he
lacks, IL he lacks courage.
There can be no such thing as true
manliness, or true womanliness. if
there is lack of courage.
Yet / do not know of any course on
courage that is given in the public
schools. do not know of any text
book on courage. do not know of
any book that has gathered together
the great examples of moral courage
which have been given to the world
by its heroes.
Physical courage we lay stress upon
Physical courage is told of In books
But physical courage is so common
In form as to be almost unworthy of
notice. In some II Ia form of hys-
terra. In a thousand instances IL has
been known to be lack of moral