--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The better part of valor is to spend it…" description: "\"The better part of valor is to spend it learning to live with differences, however hostile, unless and until we can find another planet.\" — Barbara Tuc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfd/barbara-tuchman-3945_conflict_the-better-part-of-valor-is-to-spend-it_2288167.png" --- # The better part of valor is to spend it learning to live… ![“The better part of valor is to spend it learning to live with differences, however hostile, unless and until we can find another planet.” quote by Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfd/barbara-tuchman-3945_conflict_the-better-part-of-valor-is-to-spend-it_2288167.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfd/barbara-tuchman-3945_conflict_the-better-part-of-valor-is-to-spend-it_2288167.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfd/barbara-tuchman-3945_conflict_the-better-part-of-valor-is-to-spend-it_2288167.png) > “The better part of valor is to spend it learning to live with differences, however hostile, unless and until we can find another planet.” [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True courage involves learning to coexist with hostility while seeking better horizons. **In simple terms:** Courage is learning to live with differences. Key Takeaway Learn to coexist despite hostility. Themes courage tolerance exploration Mood thoughtful inspirational Type historical philosophical When to use this quote - diplomacy - cross‑cultural work - space exploration Key Concepts conflict resolution future planning ethical reasoning Questions to Reflect On - When is it okay to avoid differences? - What new horizons can you envision? A Different Perspective Coexistence may not resolve conflict. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Better Valor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-valor-989539/) [Conflict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conflict/) [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) [Differences Hostile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences-hostile-5366480/) [Hostile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hostile/) [Hostile Unless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hostile-unless-5366481/) [Planets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/planets/) [Valor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/valor/) ## Related quotes > [“Forgiveness is the better part of valor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/forgiveness-is-the-better-part-of-valor/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [The better part of valor is discretion, in the which better part I have saved my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/the-better-part-of-valor-is-discretion-in-the-which-better-part-i/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Cowardice is the better part of valor? Fuck it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-roberts/cowardice-is-the-better-part-of-valor-fuck-it/) [C.J. Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-roberts/) > [Discretion is the better part of valor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/discretion-is-the-better-part-of-valor/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Sometimes lying was the better part of valor and the only way to save a man’s butt. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-feehan/sometimes-lying-was-the-better-part-of-valor-and-the-only-way-to-save/) [Christine Feehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-feehan/) > [“Discretion’s the better part of valor,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/discretion-s-the-better-part-of-valor/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [“I heard that "discretion is the better part of valor" from someone. Dunno exactly what that means but if it means not gettin' my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-l-kiser/i-heard-that-discretion-is-the-better-part-of-valor-from-someone/) [R.L. Kiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-l-kiser/) > [“Forgiveness is the better part of valor. (Acheron) I always thought it was ‘discretion.’ (Thanatos) Discretion is easy. It’s finding the courage to forgive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/forgiveness-is-the-better-part-of-valor-acheron-i-always-thought-it/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [If You Say Discretion Is The Better Part Of Valor. You Mean That Avoiding A Dangerous Or Unpleasant Situation Is Sometimes The Most Sensible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/if-you-say-discretion-is-the-better-part-of-valor-you-mean-that/) [Pacifiersucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pacifiersucker/) > [“Patience is the better part of valor. And obedience the better part of humanity. Listen to your elders.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brown/patience-is-the-better-part-of-valor-and-obedience-the-better-part-of/) [Pierce Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brown/) > [“Within wounds there is valor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/within-wounds-there-is-valor/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [It is not always from valor or from chastity that men are brave, and women chaste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/it-is-not-always-from-valor-or-from-chastity-that-men-are-brave-and/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [“Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/american-patriot-patrick-henry/besides-sir-we-shall-not-fight-our-battles-alone-there-is-a-just-god/) [American Patriot Patrick Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/american-patriot-patrick-henry/) > [ Forgiveness is the best part of valor...Discretion is easy. It's finding the courage to forgive yourself and others that is hard. \[Acheron\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/forgiveness-is-the-best-part-of-valor-discretion-is-easy-it-s-finding/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [My valour is certainly going! - it is sneaking off! - I feel it oozing out as it were at the palms of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/my-valour-is-certainly-going-it-is-sneaking-off-i-feel-it-oozing-out/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) ## More by Barbara Tuchman > [While husbands and lovers in the stories are of all kinds, ranging from sympathetic to disgusting, women are invariably deceivers: inconstant, unscrupulous, quarrelsome, querulous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/while-husbands-and-lovers-in-the-stories-are-of-all-kinds-ranging/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [Doctrine tied itself into infinite knots over the realities of sex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/doctrine-tied-itself-into-infinite-knots-over-the-realities-of-sex/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [The fleet sailed to its war base in the North Sea, headed not so much for some rendezvous with glory as for rendezvous with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-fleet-sailed-to-its-war-base-in-the-north-sea-headed-not-so-much/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [Learning from experience is a faculty almost never practiced](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/learning-from-experience-is-a-faculty-almost-never-practiced/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [War is the unfolding of miscalculations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/war-is-the-unfolding-of-miscalculations/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [The poets have familiarized more people with history than have the historians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-poets-have-familiarized-more-people-with-history-than-have-the/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [Money was the crux. Raising money to pay the cost of war was to cause more damage to 14th century society than the physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/money-was-the-crux-raising-money-to-pay-the-cost-of-war-was-to-cause/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [Misgovernment is of four kinds, often in combination. They are: 1) tyranny or oppression, of which history provides so many well-known examples that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/misgovernment-is-of-four-kinds-often-in-combination-they-are-1/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [The power to command frequently causes failure to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-power-to-command-frequently-causes-failure-to-think/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [We seem to be afflicted by a widespread and eroding reluctance to take any stand on any values, moral, behavioral or esthetic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/we-seem-to-be-afflicted-by-a-widespread-and-eroding-reluctance-to/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [ The clergy \[in the 14th century\] on the whole were probably no more lecherous or greedy or untrustworthy than other men, but because they… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-clergy-in-the-14th-century-on-the-whole-were-probably-no-more/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/without-books-history-is-silent-literature-dumb-science-crippled/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [Words are seductive and dangerous material, to be used with caution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/words-are-seductive-and-dangerous-material-to-be-used-with-caution/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [“German soldiers, posted as informers, were found dressed as peasants, even as peasant women. The latter were discovered, presumably in the course of non-military…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/german-soldiers-posted-as-informers-were-found-dressed-as-peasants/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [I ask myself, have nations ever declined from a loss of moral sense rather than from physical reasons or the pressure of barbarians? I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/i-ask-myself-have-nations-ever-declined-from-a-loss-of-moral-sense/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) [Explore all 119 Barbara Tuchman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) ## More Conflict quotes > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The U.S.-Mexican border es un herida abierta where the Third World grates against the first and bleeds. And before a scab forms it hemorrhages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-e-anzald-a/the-u-s-mexican-border-es-un-herida-abierta-where-the-third-world/) [Gloria E. 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People there are overflowing with energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-have-lived-in-countries-that-were-coming-out-of-conflict-ireland/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [Africa, being the major target of colonial plunder, therefore becomes a major source of conflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-horne/africa-being-the-major-target-of-colonial-plunder-therefore-becomes-a/) [Gerald Horne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-horne/) > [All drama is conflict. Without conflict, there is no action. Without action, there is no character. Without character, there is no story. And without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd-field/all-drama-is-conflict-without-conflict-there-is-no-action-without/) [Syd Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd-field/) > [The irrepressible conflict propounded by abolitionism has produced now its legitimate fruits - disunion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-irrepressible-conflict-propounded-by-abolitionism-has-produced/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“These are all good things, I said. But no one knows where your country is or who you are. You don't have a familiar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-shteyngart/these-are-all-good-things-i-said-but-no-one-knows-where-your-country/) [Gary Shteyngart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-shteyngart/) > [I understand the formula that producers hire directors and directors are hired to direct and actors are hired to act. I don't have any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-trejo/i-understand-the-formula-that-producers-hire-directors-and-directors/) [Danny Trejo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-trejo/) > [“While there is battle and hatred men have eyes for nothing save the fact that the enemy is the cause of all the troubles;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-butterfield/while-there-is-battle-and-hatred-men-have-eyes-for-nothing-save-the/) [Herbert Butterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-butterfield/) > [UN peacekeeping operations are now increasingly complex and multi-dimensional, going beyond monitoring a ceasefire to actually bringing failed States back to life, often after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/un-peacekeeping-operations-are-now-increasingly-complex-and-multi/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [All men have an instinct for conflict: at least, all healthy men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilaire-belloc/all-men-have-an-instinct-for-conflict-at-least-all-healthy-men/) [Hilaire Belloc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilaire-belloc/) > [I didnt like the Survivor shows because of the mean-spirited aspect, and women certainly were part of whatever conflict they would create.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-lawrence/i-didnt-like-the-survivor-shows-because-of-the-mean-spirited-aspect/) [Sharon Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-lawrence/) > [“How we traverse the space between us when conflict arises has a profound effect on the health and longevity of our relationships.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-salzberg/how-we-traverse-the-space-between-us-when-conflict-arises-has-a/) [Sharon Salzberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-salzberg/) [Browse all 3,969 Conflict quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conflict/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The better part of valor is to spend it learning to live with differences, however hostile, unless and until we can find another planet.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Barbara Tuchman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-better-part-of-valor-is-to-spend-it-learning-to-live-with/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conflict" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-better-part-of-valor-is-to-spend-it-learning-to-live-with/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfd/barbara-tuchman-3945_conflict_the-better-part-of-valor-is-to-spend-it_2288167.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfd/barbara-tuchman-3945_conflict_the-better-part-of-valor-is-to-spend-it_2288167.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfd/barbara-tuchman-3945_conflict_the-better-part-of-valor-is-to-spend-it_2288167.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The better part of valor is to spend it learning to live with differences, however hostile, unless and until…” — Barbara Tuchman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Barbara Tuchman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The better part of valor is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-better-part-of-valor-is-to-spend-it-learning-to-live-with/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-better-part-of-valor-is-to-spend-it-learning-to-live-with/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```