Married couples who quarrel bitterly every day may really need each other as deeply as those who appear to be desperately in love.
Edward AbbeyRead
We live in the kind of world where courage is the most essential of virtues; without courage, the other virtues are useless.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Courage is fundamental to the practice of all other virtues.
The quote by Edward Abbey emphasizes the importance of courage as a foundational virtue. Without the presence of courage, other virtues like kindness, honesty, and compassion may fail to manifest, suggesting that courage enables us to act in accordance with our values and beliefs, even in the face of adversity.
Themes
CourageVirtueStrengthBraveryValues
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about overcoming challenges, one could use this quote to emphasize the need for courage.
More from Edward Abbey
All quotes βI love America because it is a confused, chaotic mess - and I hope we can keep it this way for at least another thousand years. The permissive society is the free society.
Edward AbbeyRead
If it's knowledge and wisdom you want, then seek out the company of those who do real work for an honest purpose.
Edward AbbeyRead
The earth is real. Only a fool, milking his cow, denies the cow's reality.
Edward AbbeyRead
I believe in nothing that I cannot touch, kiss, embrace.... The rest is only hearsay.
Edward AbbeyRead
Why can't we simply borrow what is useful to us from Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, especially Zen, as we borrow from Christianity, science, American Indian traditions and world literature in general, including philosophy, and let the rest go hang? Borrow what we need but rely principally upon our own senses, common sense and daily living experience.
Edward AbbeyRead
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The predator wants your silence. It feeds their power, entitlement, and they want it to feed your shame.
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Sexuality and gender don't change anyone's performance on the court.
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Following Emporer Nero's command, "Let the Christians be exterminated!:" . . . they [the Christians] were made the subjects of sport; they were covered with the hides of wild beasts and worried to death by dogs, or nailed to crosses or set fire to, and when the day waned, burned to serve for the evening lights.
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The fear of the Lord tends to take away all other fears... This is the secret of Christian courage and boldness.
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