“ A man shall and must be valiant; he must march forward, and quit himself like a man,—trusting imperturbably in the appointment and choice of the upper Powers; and, on the whole, not fear at all. Now and always, the completeness of his victory over Fear will determine how much of a man he is. ”
Thomas Carlyle, On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and The Heroic in History (1841). copy citation
| Author | Thomas Carlyle |
|---|---|
| Source | On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and The Heroic in History |
| Topic | completeness choice |
| Date | 1841 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1091/1091-h/1091-h.htm |
Context
“A man's acts are slavish, not true but specious; his very thoughts are false, he thinks too as a slave and coward, till he have got Fear under his feet. Odin's creed, if we disentangle the real kernel of it, is true to this hour. A man shall and must be valiant; he must march forward, and quit himself like a man,—trusting imperturbably in the appointment and choice of the upper Powers; and, on the whole, not fear at all. Now and always, the completeness of his victory over Fear will determine how much of a man he is.
It is doubtless very savage that kind of valor of the old Northmen. Snorro tells us they thought it a shame and misery not to die in battle; and if natural death seemed to be coming on, they would cut wounds in their flesh, that Odin might receive them as warriors slain.”
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