MORAL COURAGE
Moral courage is that energy of character which leads us to confess and uphold what we think and believe. This quality, one of the rarest in man, is nevertheless indispensable to whomsoever uses his faculties in any public capacity, whether he be a statesman, a soldier, an artist, or a writer; that is to say, everyone who has to take responsibility, making nothing of opinion or criticism.
I have often heard it said that moral courage corresponds to physical development. That is true, provided that the physical development be attended by good health. We often see men insignificant in appearance gifted with moral courage which athletes lack. It is because, in spite of their physical slightness, these men possess health so robust as to save them from mental weakness and give them perfect balance.
But there is something besides. Although there is still much to learn about character, it is certain that we can cultivate the moral courage which springs from instinct and temperament by the choice of our own ideas and actions.
Never has the need of character-forming made itself felt so much as in our days. Character is becoming rare because intellects are in disorder. Dilettantism kills reason, æstheticism strays without direction through the mind, ready-made opinions take the place of thought, and the caprice of the moment serves for moral or material interests and weakens the will.
The sign of the individual, the dominant feature of his personality, is character, and character gives birth to moral courage. Dr. Ferrand says: “Character assumes considerable importance in the life of the individual and in the life of all the natural or social groups which individuals form amongst themselves; it is, accordingly to Smiles, one of the greatest motive powers in the world. By the unity of direction which he impresses upon all his actions, the man of character is not only master of himself, though that is much, but he bears naturally upon the activity of others, and
draws them after him, as a mighty ship draws into its track all the craft it encounters in its course.”