"Who could refrain that had a heart to love and in that heart courage to make love known?"

Courage

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Thematic Reflection

This quotation examines the core nature of Courage as articulated by William Shakespeare. Within historical and literary traditions, reflections on Courage provide actionable mental models, challenging individuals to evaluate personal ethics, self-discipline, and daily actions.

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About William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" or simply "the Bard". His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, 3 long narrative poems and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Shakespeare remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language, and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted.

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More by William Shakespeare

"Love is not love that alters when it alteration finds."

— William Shakespeare
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"Let every eye negotiate for itself and trust no agent."

— William Shakespeare
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"There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat. And we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures."

— William Shakespeare
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"Time and the hour run through the roughest day."

— William Shakespeare
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More about Courage

"Another hero was Tom Swift, in the books. What he stood for, the freedom, the scientific knowledge and being and engineer gave him the ability to invent solutions to problems. He's always been a hero to me. I buy old Tom Swift books now and read them to my own children."

— Steve Wozniak
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"Advance, and never halt, for advancing is perfection. Advance and do not fear the thorns in the path, for they draw only corrupt blood."

— Khalil Gibran
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"I don't want to wake up and be bored. That's probably my greatest fear is to have nothing to do. What better job is there than to play quarterback for an NFL team, and certainly one that I've been on for a long time and had success with? I don't plan on giving it up any time soon."

— Tom Brady
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"Courage and conviction are powerful weapons against an enemy who depends only on fists or guns. Animals know when you are afraid a coward knows when you are not."

— David Seabury
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