Courage

True courage but from opposition grows; And what are fifty, what a thousand slaves Match'd to the sinew of a single arm That strikes for liberty.

This is true courage, not the brutal force Of vulgar heroes, but the firm resolve Of virtue and of reason. He who thinks Without their aid to shine in deeds of arms, Builds on a sandy basis his renown; A dream, a vapour, or an ague fit May make a coward of him—