François de La Rochefoucauld

“Complete courage and absolute cowardice are extremes that very few men fall into. The vast middle space contains all the intermediate kinds and degrees of courage; and these differ as much from one another as men's faces or their humors do.”

“Perfect courage is to do without witnesses what one would be capable of doing with the world looking on.”

“We can never be certain of our courage until we have faced danger.”

“Hope, deceitful as it is, serves at least to lead us to the end of life along an agreeable road.”