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a69b663 Heroes didn't leap tall buildings or stop bullets with an outstretched hand; they didn't wear boots and capes. They bled, and they bruised, and their superpowers were as simple as listening, or loving. Heroes were ordinary people who knew that even if their own lives were impossibly knotted, they could untangle someone else's. And maybe that one act could lead someone to rescue you right back. heroism Jodi Picoult
d52b789 Living by faith includes the call to something greater than cowardly self-preservation. heroism J.R.R. Tolkien
fa23f50 We are like a bunch of dogs squirting on fire hydrants. We poison the groundwater with our toxic piss, marking everything MINE in a ridiculous attempt to survive our deaths. I can't stop pissing on fire hydrants...I am an animal like any other. Hazel is different. she walks lightly, old man. She walks lightly upon the earth. She knows the truth: We're as likely to hurt the universe as we are to help it, and we're not likely to do either. People will say it's sad that she leaves a lesser scar, that fewer remember her, that she was loved deeply but not widely. But it's not sad. It's triumphant. It's heroic. Isn't that the real heroism? The real heroes anyway aren't the people doing things; the real heroes are the people NOTICING things, paying attention. heroism the-fault-in-our-stars depth hero intimacy John Green
28e4acd The real hero is always a hero by mistake; he dreams of being an honest coward like everybody else. heroism Umberto Eco
f9ad8b8 In the action business, when you don't want to say you ran like a mouse, you call it 'taking cover.' It's more heroic. heroism humor Jim Butcher
c90f516 To be heroic is to be courageous enough to die for something; to be inspirational is to be crazy enough to live a little. heroes heroic stand-out heroism clever courage living death motivational success life inspirational stand courageous winning definition living-life-to-the-fullest soldier warrior hero crazy Criss Jami
1ef33ba Being terrified but going ahead and doing what must be done--that's courage. The one who feels no fear is a fool, and the one who lets fear rule him is a coward. heroism fear Piers Anthony
606f130 Heroism doesn't pay very well. I try to be cold-blooded and money-oriented, but I keep screwing it up. heroism humor Jim Butcher
3cb5432 No one is an unjust villain in his own mind. Even - perhaps even - those who are the worst of us. Some of the cruelest tyrants in history were motivated by noble ideals, or made choices that they would call 'hard but necessary steps' for the good of their nation. We're all the hero of our own story. heroism tyranny Jim Butcher
fb15d74 Harry Dresden. Saving the world, one act of random destruction at a time. heroism humor Jim Butcher
e9163f5 "In one of his last newsletters, Mike Ranney wrote: "In thinking back on the days of Easy Company, I'm treasuring my remark to a grandson who asked, 'Grandpa, were you a hero in the war?' No,'" I answered, 'but I served in a company of heroes." -- war heroism Stephen E. Ambrose
92d6b11 It may not feel too classy, begging just to ea dr-horrible-sing-along-blog musical-song-lyrics heroism individuality humour inspirational Joss Whedon
ae0a77a Plants are more courageous than almost all human beings: an orange tree would rather die than produce lemons, whereas instead of dying the average person would rather be someone they are not. be-yourself acting adage adages aphorisms audacity axiom axioms balls cojones conforming courageousness dictum dictums fit-in hardihood heroism herself human-being intrepidity made-me-think make-you-think maxims motivated moxie murder murdered oneself persons pluckiness pretender pretenders profound provoke-thought quotation spunk standout themselves true-grit daring humour bravery courage inspired people human fear quote inspiration inspire death motivational humor inspirational fearful actor saying lemons conform animal pluck courageous lemon plants nerve boldness motive plant words-to-live-by killed gnomes nonconformity orange maxim tree brave actors façades act grit epigram epigrams gnome produce deep fitting-in valour proverbs facade aphorism pretending quotations sayings pretend conformity gallantry peoples guts standing-out trees animals satire satirical self thought-provoking person himself yourself quotes human-beings thoughtful insightful proverb humans kill fearlessness dead fruit fruits die Mokokoma Mokhonoana
a4fdc5a "Very good, Jason Grace," Notus said. "You are a son of Jupiter, yet you have chosen your own path- as all the greatest demigods have done before you. You cannot control your parentage, but you choose your legacy." heroism roman legacy self greek hero heroes-of-olympus percy-jackson house-of-hades jason-grace rick-riordan Rick Riordan
4fb309b For a Hero cannot triumph all the time. Sometimes he will be defeated, and how he faces that defeat is a test of his character. heroism depth hiccup Cressida Cowell
e7ad323 Heroes are people who face down their fears. It is that simple. A child afraid of the dark who one day blows out the candle; a women terrified of the pain of childbirth who says, 'It is time to become a mother'. Heroism does not always live on the battlefield. heroism fear David Gemmell
1c0be2d There's no shame in fear. But understand this - the coward is ruled by fear, while the hero rides it like a wild stallion. heroism courage fear David Gemmell
efa0af0 He found that it was easy to make a heroic gesture, but hard to abide by its results. heroism life hard W. Somerset Maugham
1a84b71 I'm not a legend or a hero, I don't slay dragons, I don't do any of the things that a real hero can. But I can make things better, one day at a time, for most of the kingdom. heroes heroism Mercedes Lackey
f38e139 Every man is a hero if he strives more for others than for himself alone. heroism selflessness hero Lloyd Alexander
378121e That is why your sacrifice was all the more difficult. You chose to be a hero not through enchantment but through your own manhood. heroism sacrifice manhood Lloyd Alexander
49ac5ff "And you came back to Lyrian?" Galloran said in disbelief. "Believe it or not, I came through the same hippopotamus that brought me here the first time. Jumped into the tank on purpose. I wanted to keep others from wasting their time pursuing the Word. And I couldn't ditch Rachel." Galloran smiled. "Truly, you are possessed by that species of madness that begets heroism." rebellion heroes heroism seeds brandon mull Brandon Mull
9b6b969 Heroism doesn't always happen in a burst of glory. Sometimes small triumphs and large hearts change the course of history. Sometimes a chicken can save a man's life. heroism science military Mary Roach
281de5a "It's because of my grandfather that I became a Young Avenger. But it's hard sometimes, to be a black kid carrying a name like "Patriot". I remember talking to Captain America about before he died, and he explained what Patriotism meant to him... It wasn't about blindly supporting your government. It was about knowing what your country could be, what it should be... And trying to lead it there through your example. And holding it accountable when it failed. I remember he said: "There's noting patriotic about corruption or cover-ups... or defending them. But exposing them, well, that takes a hero." equality heroism captain-america cover-ups eli elijah-bradley non-conformism patriot race-and-racism-in-america young-avengers comics corruption patriotism Ed Brubaker
b2d5e14 The modern mind is forced towards the future by a certain sense of fatigue, not unmixed with terror, with which it regards the past. It is propelled towards the coming time; it is, in the exact words of the popular phrase, knocked into the middle of next week. And the goad which drives it on thus eagerly is not an affectation for futurity Futurity does not exist, because it is still future. Rather it is a fear of the past; a fear not merely of the evil in the past, but of the good in the past also. The brain breaks down under the unbearable virtue of mankind. There have been so many flaming faiths that we cannot hold; so many harsh heroisms that we cannot imitate; so many great efforts of monumental building or of military glory which seem to us at once sublime and pathetic. The future is a refuge from the fierce competition of our forefathers. The older generation, not the younger, is knocking at our door. It is agreeable to escape, as Henley said, into the Street of By-and-Bye, where stands the Hostelry of Never. It is pleasant to play with children, especially unborn children. The future is a blank wall on which every man can write his own name as large as he likes; the past I find already covered with illegible scribbles, such as Plato, Isaiah, Shakespeare, Michael Angelo, Napoleon. I can make the future as narrow as myself; the past is obliged to be as broad and turbulent as humanity. And the upshot of this modern attitude is really this: that men invent new ideals because they dare not attempt old ideals. They look forward with enthusiasm, because they are afraid to look back. heroism future fear past fatigue variety imaginary enthusiasm ideals ease G.K. Chesterton
72b08b5 This last best luck of all: that earth should gape for me when my great deeds were ended. war heroism mortality soldiers trauma E.R. Eddison
b4a3318 Heroic dreams are the consolation of the unhappy. After all, when people like us say we're being heroic, it usually means we're about to kill each other--or kill ourselves. heroism orhan-pamuk heroics snow Orhan Pamuk
6abd03d Heroes, well, they don't live so long. But they're muy suave, and we all admire them. heroes heroism young-adult Nancy Farmer
0264512 After September 11th, I never much liked the trend of everyone and his brother wearing the hats and jackets of the NYPD and FDNY. Only the people who do the job should get to wear the hat. Would you wear someone else's Medal of Honor? Yes, it's a tribute, and sincere tribute is always appropriate for these brave people. But wearing their symbols is also rubbing off a piece of heroism that isn't yours. heroes heroism america war-on-terror patriotism Bill Maher
2ea45d1 And it's funny how when somebody saves you, the first thing you want to do is save other people. heroism saving Chuck Palahniuk
9f0a8b4 "In 1908, in a wild and remote area of the North Caucasus, Leo Tolstoy, the greatest writer of the age, was the guest of a tribal chief "living far away from civilized life in the mountains." Gathering his family and neighbors, the chief asked Tolstoy to tell stories about the famous men of history. Tolstoy told how he entertained the eager crowd for hours with tales of Alexander, Caesar, Frederick the Great, and Napoleon. When he was winding to a close, the chief stood and said, "But you have not told us a syllable about the greatest general and greatest ruler of the world. We want to know something about him. He was a hero. He spoke with a voice of thunder; he laughed like the sunrise and his deeds were strong as the rock....His name was Lincoln and the country in which he lived is called America, which is so far away that if a youth should journey to reach it he would be an old man when he arrived. Tell us of that man." "I looked at them," Tolstoy recalled, "and saw their faces all aglow, while their eyes were burning. I saw that those rude barbarians were really interested in a man whose name and deeds had already become a legend." He told them everything he knew about Lincoln's "home life and youth...his habits, his influence upon the people and his physical strength." When he finished, they were so grateful for the story that they presented him with "a wonderful Arabian horse." The next morning, as Tolstoy prepared to leave, they asked if he could possibly acquire for them a picture of Lincoln. Thinking that he might find one at a friend's house in the neighboring town, Tolstoy asked one of the riders to accompany him. "I was successful in getting a large photograph from my friend," recalled Tolstoy. As he handed it to the rider, he noted that the man's hand trembled as he took it. "He gazed for several minutes silently, like one in a reverent prayer, his eyes filled with tears." Tolstoy went on to observe, "This little incident proves how largely the name of Lincoln is worshipped throughout the world and how legendary his personality has become. Now, why was Lincoln so great that he overshadows all other national heroes? He really was not a great general like Napoleon or Washington; he was not such a skilful statesman as Gladstone or Frederick the Great; but his supremacy expresses itself altogether in his peculiar moral power and in the greatness of his character. "Washington was a typical American. Napoleon was a typical Frenchman, but Lincoln was a humanitarian as broad as the world. He was bigger than his country--bigger than all the Presidents together. "We are still too near to his greatness," Tolstoy concluded, "but after a few centuries more our posterity will find him considerably bigger than we do. His genius is still too strong and too powerful for the common understanding, just as the sun is too hot when its light beams directly on us." heroism tolstoy lincoln legend Doris Kearns Goodwin
dda20e4 Heroes did not always swoop in to rescue. They made questionable calls. They lived with doubts. They replayed and edited and imagined different outcomes. They killed, sometimes, to save. heroism Jodi Picoult
5c1b7ae They blew out a breath and did the thing all heroes must do--they took that terrifying first step. heroes heroism Chloe Neill
8a66df2 I was not always that way, but perhaps the shadow Earth, where I spent so many years, mellowed me a bit, and maybe my hitch in the dungeons of Amber reminded me somewhat of the quality of human suffering. I do not know. I only know that I could not pass by the hurt I saw on the form of someone much like someone who had once been a friend. heroism compassion human-suffering Roger Zelazny
38ff5e4 Deeds of heroism are wrought here more than those of romance, when, defying torture, and braving death itself, the fugitive voluntarily threads his way back to the terrors and perils of that dark land, that he may bring out his sister, or mother, or wife. heroism slavery risk love fugitive-slave Harriet Beecher Stowe
3e67f29 By the time I wrote this book I needed to look at heroics from outside and underneath, from the point of view of the people who are not included. The ones who can't do magic. The ones who don't have shining staffs or swords. Women, kids, the poor, the old, the powerless. Unheroes, ordinary people--my people. I didn't want to change Earthsea, but I needed to see what Earthsea looked like to us. heroes feminism heroism women heroics elderly Ursula K. Le Guin
3058613 An unhappy land, then, is one whose citizens no longer know where duty lies, and seek a charismatic leader who tells them what to do. Which, if I remember correctly, is what Hitler promulgated in Mein Kampf. heroism land Umberto Eco
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