Bravery Quote by Ambrose Bierce
““The exhilaration of battle was agreeable to him, but the sight of the dead, with their clay faces, blank eyes, and stiff bodies, which, when not unnaturally shrunken, were unnaturally swollen, had always intolerably affected him. He felt toward them a kind of reasonless antipathy which was something more than the physical and spiritual repugnance common to us all. Doubtless this feeling was due to his unusually acute sensibilities - his keen sense of the beautiful, which these hideous things outraged. Whatever may have been the cause, he could not look upon a dead body without a loathing which had in it an element of reselltment. What others have respected as the dignity of death had to him no existence - was altogether unthinkable. Death was a thing to be hated. It was not picturesque, it had no tender and solemn side - a dismal thing, hideous in all its manifestations and suggestions. Lieutenant Byring was a braver man than anybody knew, for nobody knew his horror of that which he was ever ready to encounter. ("A Tough Tussle")””
About This Quote
Source Short story: “A Tough Tussle” by Ambrose Bierce, 1891
The narrator’s heightened sensitivity makes death grotesque and intolerable, turning natural repulsion into profound loathing.
In simple terms: Sensitive people may find death especially disturbing.
Key Takeaway
Acknowledge and process emotional reactions to mortality.
Themes
mortality
sensibility
repulsion
Mood
somber
introspective
Type
literary
psychological
When to use this quote
- combat experience
- artistic expression
- personal reflection
Key Concepts
aesthetic perception
psychological trauma
Questions to Reflect On
- How does sensitivity shape your view of death?
- Can you find meaning despite revulsion?
A Different Perspective
Such intense aversion may impair necessary coping with loss.
![“René of Anjou [(1409-80)] painted a picture of his mistress's corpse as he found it eaten by worms on having it [her tomb] openedon his return from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. This [is] another instance of the strange mixture of religion and gallantry in those ages.” quote by Horace Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/aba/horace-walpole-3357_age_ren-of-anjou-1409-80-painted-a-picture-o_33917.jpg)
