On the Virtues

The subject of justice and all the relevant points which the occasion requires have already been discussed, and I will take courage next in the sequence. By courage I mean, not what most people understand, namely the rabid war fever which takes anger for its counsellor, but the courage which is knowledge. For some under the stimulus of reckless daring, supported by bodily strength and marshalled in full armour for war, lay low multitudes of antagonists in a general slaughter and win the well-sounding but little deserved name of noble achievement, yet though their victory makes them exceedingly glorious in the eyes of those who pass judgement on such matters, nature and practice have combined to make them savage and bestial in their thirst for human blood.

But there are others who live on in their homes with their bodies worn to a thread by long sickness or the burden of old age, yet healthy and youthful in the better part of the soul, brimful of highmindedness and staunchest valour. They never even dream of touching weapons of defence, but render the highest service to the commonwealth by the excellent advice which they put forward, and guided by unflinching and unswerving consideration of what is profitable, restore what had broken down in the personal life of each individual and in the public life of their country.