--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Even the bravest only rarely have courage…" description: "\"Even the bravest only rarely have courage for what they really know.\" — Friedrich Nietzsche" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f15/friedrich-nietzsche-15_courage_even-the-bravest-only-rarely-have-courag_1180865.jpg" --- # Even the bravest only rarely have courage for what they… ![“Even the bravest only rarely have courage for what they really know.” quote by Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f15/friedrich-nietzsche-15_courage_even-the-bravest-only-rarely-have-courag_1180865.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f15/friedrich-nietzsche-15_courage_even-the-bravest-only-rarely-have-courag_1180865.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f15/friedrich-nietzsche-15_courage_even-the-bravest-only-rarely-have-courag_1180865.jpg) > “Even the bravest only rarely have courage for what they really know.” [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Courage to act on true knowledge is rare; people often know what is right but lack the bravery to pursue it. **In simple terms:** Knowing truth isn’t enough without courage. Key Takeaway Cultivate bravery to act on convictions. Themes courage knowledge action truth Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - political activism - ethical decisions - personal growth - leadership Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - What truth are you avoiding? - How can you summon courage now? A Different Perspective Fear can paralyze even the wise. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bravest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bravest/) [Bravest Rarely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bravest-rarely-3462897/) [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Courage Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage-really-543484/) [Have courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/have-courage/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Rarely Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rarely-courage-3462896/) ## Related quotes > [You have to fight, you have to have courage for what you really want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-schwarzenegger/you-have-to-fight-you-have-to-have-courage-for-what-you-really-want/) [Arnold Schwarzenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-schwarzenegger/) > [Even the pluckiest among us has but seldom the courage of what he really knows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/even-the-pluckiest-among-us-has-but-seldom-the-courage-of-what-he/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The courage of all one really knows comes but late in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-courage-of-all-one-really-knows-comes-but-late-in-life/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [In our blessed and mostly peaceful society we're not as familiar with courage as we once were. We ascribe the virtue to all manner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/in-our-blessed-and-mostly-peaceful-society-we-re-not-as-familiar-with/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [Personal courage is really a very subordinate virtue-a virtue, indeed, in which we are surpassed by the lower animals; or else you would not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/personal-courage-is-really-a-very-subordinate-virtue-a-virtue-indeed/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [“Change will never happen if you lack the ability and courage to see yourself for who you really are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/change-will-never-happen-if-you-lack-the-ability-and-courage-to-see/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [“I guess true courage is when you're really scared but you still do it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-marsden/i-guess-true-courage-is-when-you-re-really-scared-but-you-still-do-it/) [James Marsden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-marsden/) > [You have to have faith that there is a reason you go through certain things. I can't say I'm glad to go through pain,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-burnett/you-have-to-have-faith-that-there-is-a-reason-you-go-through-certain/) [Carol Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-burnett/) > [I'm definitely guilty of turning tail and running in places in my life. It's the lack of courage, really.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-livingston/i-m-definitely-guilty-of-turning-tail-and-running-in-places-in-my/) [Ron Livingston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-livingston/) > [“Letting you go right now is the most unselfish thing I’ve ever done.” “You’re the one who gave me the courage to really believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katy-evans/letting-you-go-right-now-is-the-most-unselfish-thing-i-ve-ever-done/) [Katy Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katy-evans/) > [I learned to love who I am despite what anyone would say about or to me. This gave me the courage to really stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winnie-harlow/i-learned-to-love-who-i-am-despite-what-anyone-would-say-about-or-to/) [Winnie Harlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winnie-harlow/) > [There are looks that I see on other people that I think would look horrible on me, but I think if somebody has the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-lively/there-are-looks-that-i-see-on-other-people-that-i-think-would-look/) [Blake Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-lively/) > [“What matters is attitude and courage to really do what your heart tells you to.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/preeti-shenoy/what-matters-is-attitude-and-courage-to-really-do-what-your-heart/) [Preeti Shenoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/preeti-shenoy/) > [It takes courage to become what you really you are and what you are destined to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-takes-courage-to-become-what-you-really-you-are-and-what-you-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You have to develop ways so that you can take up for yourself, and then you take up for someone else. And so sooner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-have-to-develop-ways-so-that-you-can-take-up-for-yourself-and/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## More by Friedrich Nietzsche > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Every select man strives instinctively for a citadel and a privacy, where he is FREE from the crowd, the many, the majority-- where he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/every-select-man-strives-instinctively-for-a-citadel-and-a-privacy/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“It breaks my heart. Better than your words, your eye tells me all your peril. You are not yet free, you still search for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-breaks-my-heart-better-than-your-words-your-eye-tells-me-all-your/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“79. A soul which knows that it is loved, but does not itself love, betrays its sediment: its dregs come up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/79-a-soul-which-knows-that-it-is-loved-but-does-not-itself-love/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [We deceive ourselves when giving respect to the person for whom we have surrendered ourselves, when we respectively expect them to be as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/we-deceive-ourselves-when-giving-respect-to-the-person-for-whom-we/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“The great periods of our life occur when we gain the courage to rechristen what is bad about us as what is best.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-great-periods-of-our-life-occur-when-we-gain-the-courage-to/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“What is life? Life - that is: continually shedding something that wants to die. Life - that is: being cruel and inexorable against everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/what-is-life-life-that-is-continually-shedding-something-that-wants/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [It is thus only this personal feeling of misery that we get rid of by acts of pity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-is-thus-only-this-personal-feeling-of-misery-that-we-get-rid-of-by/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Writers whose thoughts are expressed with clarity and precision are assumed by readers to be superficial. Where the meaning is obscured, then readers give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/writers-whose-thoughts-are-expressed-with-clarity-and-precision-are/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“he does not wear a twitching, mobile, human face, but rather a mask, as it were, with its features in dignified equilibrium; he does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/he-does-not-wear-a-twitching-mobile-human-face-but-rather-a-mask-as/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Chastity is a virtue with some, but with many it is almost a vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/chastity-is-a-virtue-with-some-but-with-many-it-is-almost-a-vice/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The earth is like the breasts of a woman: useful as well as pleasing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-earth-is-like-the-breasts-of-a-woman-useful-as-well-as-pleasing/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Of all that is written I love only what a man has written in his own blood.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/of-all-that-is-written-i-love-only-what-a-man-has-written-in-his-own/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [No shepherd and one herd! Everybody wants the same, everybody is the same: whoever feels different goes voluntarily into a madhouse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/no-shepherd-and-one-herd-everybody-wants-the-same-everybody-is-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Pain makes hens and poets cackle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/pain-makes-hens-and-poets-cackle/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) [Explore all 3,486 Friedrich Nietzsche quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## More Bravest quotes > [One of the bravest things you can do is acknowledge and support the strength of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/one-of-the-bravest-things-you-can-do-is-acknowledge-and-support-the/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [The bravest sight in all this world is a man fighting against odds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-knight-lane/the-bravest-sight-in-all-this-world-is-a-man-fighting-against-odds/) [Franklin Knight Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-knight-lane/) > [“The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/the-bravest-are-surely-those-who-have-the-clearest-vision-of-what-is/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [“Moroccan traffic isn't like normal traffic. It's armed combat, a war of wills, in which only the very bravest have a chance to survive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/moroccan-traffic-isn-t-like-normal-traffic-it-s-armed-combat-a-war-of/) [Tahir Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-shah/) > [Most people aren't appreciated enough, and the bravest things we do in our lives are usually known only to ourselves. No one throws ticker…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-noonan/most-people-aren-t-appreciated-enough-and-the-bravest-things-we-do-in/) [Peggy Noonan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-noonan/) > [It's when you're acting selflessly that you are at your bravest." --Four in Divergent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/it-s-when-you-re-acting-selflessly-that-you-are-at-your-bravest-four/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [The bravest men are subject most to chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/the-bravest-men-are-subject-most-to-chance/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [“Asking Wolf to couples' skate is like bungee jumping without a cord-it may be the bravest thing I've ever done in my life. Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alecia-whitaker/asking-wolf-to-couples-skate-is-like-bungee-jumping-without-a-cord-it/) [Alecia Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alecia-whitaker/) > [The best hearts are ever the bravest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/the-best-hearts-are-ever-the-bravest/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [Even the bravest cannot fight beyond his power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/even-the-bravest-cannot-fight-beyond-his-power/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [The bravest are the tenderest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/the-bravest-are-the-tenderest/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [“I think the bravest people are not the ones brave enough to die. But the ones brave enough to live. And living is different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-celia/i-think-the-bravest-people-are-not-the-ones-brave-enough-to-die-but/) [Audrey Celia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-celia/) > [“The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-grossman/the-bravest-are-surely-those-who-have-the-clearest-vision-of-what-is-2/) [Dave Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-grossman/) > [“What's the bravest thing you ever did? He spat in the road a bloody phlegm. Getting up this morning, he said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/what-s-the-bravest-thing-you-ever-did-he-spat-in-the-road-a-bloody/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“The bravest are the most vulnerable; they are also the ones most capable of reward.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-sorenson/the-bravest-are-the-most-vulnerable-they-are-also-the-ones-most/) [Toni Sorenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-sorenson/) [Browse all 136 Bravest quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bravest/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Even the bravest only rarely have courage for what they really know.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Friedrich Nietzsche" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/even-the-bravest-only-rarely-have-courage-for-what-they-really-know/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bravest" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/even-the-bravest-only-rarely-have-courage-for-what-they-really-know/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f15/friedrich-nietzsche-15_courage_even-the-bravest-only-rarely-have-courag_1180865.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f15/friedrich-nietzsche-15_courage_even-the-bravest-only-rarely-have-courag_1180865.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f15/friedrich-nietzsche-15_courage_even-the-bravest-only-rarely-have-courag_1180865.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Even the bravest only rarely have courage for what they really know.” — Friedrich Nietzsche", "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": "Friedrich Nietzsche", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Even the bravest only rarely have...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/even-the-bravest-only-rarely-have-courage-for-what-they-really-know/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/even-the-bravest-only-rarely-have-courage-for-what-they-really-know/#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 } } ] } ```