Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1915-09-16
HIGHEST COURAGE.
The Bravery That Goes Hand In
Hand With C0WardiCe.
A MEDICAL VIEW OF HEROISM.

The Worlds Estimate of True Valor,
1t Is Claimed, Is Superficial and Silly,
as That Which 1t Stamps With APP
prevail Is Lack Of SensibiIity.
What is true courage?" asks the
American Journal of Clinical Medicine,
and answers that the worlds estimate
Of courage is superficial and silly.
Highest in the worlds scale of hero
ism," it says, lis the cool, careless au-
dacity that marches up to the mouth
Of the cannon with Il flower in it's cap
and a frivolous song on it's lips, as
serene as on parade. Such bravery is
really the very lowest in the scale, if
indeed it be in the scale at ALL except
in the sense that zero is part of the
scale. 1t is not courage at all, but
sheer lack of sensibility, either from
ignorance or from accustOmednesS. 1t
Is in quality the same mental attitude
in which the ignorant, impressive mine
worker walks around In the fire damps.
and when they explode he, too, be-
comes popular hero.
"NeXt highest in the worlds gauge
next lowest in the true Scale-iS the
courage that dares quick danger in a
sudden emergency. In itself this is
hardly more genuine brand of cOur-
age than the first, except that it in
wolves a more or less unseltish diSci-
plining Of the man previous to the de-
mand that is made on him. Even so,
it is more Il matter of habit than of
quality The fact that there is no time
to count the cost rObS it of any DELHI
crate merit. Many man, in fact, is
surprised into Il herOiSm which is real
ly no part of him. Certainly it is no
high grade Of courage. Rather, let us
say, it is a negative sort of quality, to
which if man does not respond on
demand We conclude there is some pos
tive quality of pOltroOnery about him.
Still lower in the worlds estimation
still higher in actual wOrth-is the
courage which calmly and deliberately
holds it's course Of duty in the face Of
almost certain calamity and misfor-
tune, the quiet resolution to meet ones
fate in the face of foregone disaster
and disappointment, the steadfast set
ting Of ones face to go to Jerusalem.
OF all forms Of herOism none will so
surely win the love and confidence Of
human hearts, which is worth a hun
dred times the admiration Of human
minds, than this.
Higher yet in the true Scale-lOwer
yet in the popular guage-is the cOur-
age that suStains itself, as it were,
upon nothing but it's own unconquera-
BILE stamina. The man who though his
fights be all defeats, still fights, who,
though he has been d failure In the
past and knows himself (as many IA
keenly sensitive man knows HIMSELF
to be failure and is doomed to be Il
failure for the rest of his life, rises pa
tiently and indOmitably every morning
to face the inevitable defeat of the day
with eQuanimity and sWeetneSS-there
is a courage, my masters, of which the
kings and victOrs of the earth are not
capable.
But there is a yet higher quality of
courage, the highest of all in the true
scale, but SO little esteemed in the pop
ular mind that it will hardly be ac-
corded place in the scale at all un-
less, as | said in respect Of the first
type, to be zero is to be part of the
gauge. 1t is the courage Of cowardice,
the bravery of the man who is afraid.
but who in mortal funk and abiect
fear, with throbbing heart and sweat
ing brow. forces himself to do the
thing from which he shrinks. This,
which the world sneers at as coward
ice, Is the highest courage of ALL In
fact, it is the only true courage. for it
sets all the agoniZed effort Of a mans
soul against all the fears and terrOrs
that the powers of darkness can bring