Quotes About Courage

Cowardice asks the question, 'Is it safe?' Expediency asks the question, 'Is it politic?' Vanity asks the question, 'Is it popular?' But, conscience asks the question, 'Is it right?' And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because one's conscience tells one that it is right

We must substitute courage for caution.

Mother Dear, one day I'm going to turn this world upside down. --From My Brother Martin, by Christine King Farris

A man who does not have something for which he is willing to die is not fit to live.

I've looked over, and I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land. So I'm happy tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man.

I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream.

Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can't ride you unless your back is bent.

I submit to you that if a man has not discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live.

A man dies when he refuses to stand up for that which is right.

There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair.

The nonviolent approach does not immediately change the heart of the oppressor. It first does something to the hearts and souls of those committed to it. It gives them new self-respect; it calls up resources of strength and courage they did not know they had.

The time is always right, to do what's right.

The true measure of a man is not how he behaves in moments of comfort and convenience but how he stands at times of controversy and challenges.

I cannot make myself believe that God wanted me to hate. I'm tired of violence, I've seen too much of it. I've seen such hate on the faces of too many sheriffs in the South. And I'm not going to let my oppressor dictate to me what method I must use. Our oppressors have used violence. Our oppressors have used hatred. Our oppressors have used rifles and guns. I'm not going to stoop down to their level. I want to rise to a higher level. We have a power that can't be found in Molotov cocktails.

You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.

My friends, we cannot win the respect of the white people of the South or elsewhere if we are willing to trade the future of our children for our personal safety or comfort. Moreover, we must learn that passively to accept an unjust system is to cooperate with that system, and thereby to become a participant in its evil. ... 'Put up thy sword.

One of these days I'm going to put my body where my mind is.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that.

Unless you have found something in life to live for that is more important to you than your own life, you will always be a slave. For all another man needs to do is threaten to take your life to get you to do his bidding.

One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty.

If you have not discovered something you are willing to die for, then you are not fit to live.

Si el hombre no ha descubierto nada por lo que morir, no es digno de vivir.

we must constantly build dykes of courage to hold back the flood of fear