--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Courage, the highest gift, that scorns to…" description: "\"Courage, the highest gift, that scorns to bend To mean devices for a sordid end. Courage--an independent spark from Heaven's bright throne, By which th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2de/george-farquhar-16052_attributes_courage-the-highest-gift-that-scorns-to_2386918.jpg" --- # Courage, the highest gift, that scorns to bend To mean… ![“Courage, the highest gift, that scorns to bend To mean devices for a sordid end. Courage--an independent spark from Heaven's bright throne, By which the soul stands raised, triumphant high, alone. Great in itself, not praises of the crowd, Above all vice, it stoops not to be proud. Courage, the…” quote by George Farquhar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2de/george-farquhar-16052_attributes_courage-the-highest-gift-that-scorns-to_2386918.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2de/george-farquhar-16052_attributes_courage-the-highest-gift-that-scorns-to_2386918.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2de/george-farquhar-16052_attributes_courage-the-highest-gift-that-scorns-to_2386918.jpg) > “Courage, the highest gift, that scorns to bend To mean devices for a sordid end. Courage--an independent spark from Heaven's bright throne, By which the soul stands raised, triumphant high, alone. Great in itself, not praises of the crowd, Above all vice, it stoops not to be proud. Courage, the mighty attribute of powers above, By which those great in war, are great in love. The spring of all brave acts is seated here, As falsehoods draw their sordid birth from fear.” [George Farquhar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-farquhar/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Courage is an inner, divine strength that lets one act rightly without seeking approval, standing tall against fear and falsehood. **In simple terms:** Courage is inner divine strength that drives right action. Key Takeaway Act with inner strength, not for applause. Themes courage integrity individualism Mood determined reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - leadership decisions - ethical dilemmas - personal challenges - conflict resolution Key Concepts virtue self-reliance heroism Questions to Reflect On - What does true courage look like in your life? - How do you balance confidence with humility? A Different Perspective Courage can be misused for selfish ends if not tempered by humility. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attributes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attributes/) [Be proud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/be-proud/) [Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) [Brave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brave/) [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Courage Highest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage-highest-2246933/) [Courage Mighty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage-mighty-5930934/) [Crowds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crowds/) [Devices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devices/) [Draws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/draws/) [End Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-courage-1940062/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Falsehood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falsehood/) [Heaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven/) [Highest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/highest/) [Independent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/independent/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praise/) [Proud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proud/) [Proud Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proud-courage-5930935/) [Raised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/raised/) [Scorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scorn/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sparks/) [Spring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spring/) [Stoops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stoops/) [Thrones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thrones/) [Triumphant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/triumphant/) [Vices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vices/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [Moral courage is the highest expression of humanity ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/moral-courage-is-the-highest-expression-of-humanity/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [For the sake of historical truth I must verify that only the Greeks, of all the adversaries who confronted us, fought with bold courage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/for-the-sake-of-historical-truth-i-must-verify-that-only-the-greeks/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [Courage is the highest quality for a soldier, but technology is a fine substitute.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/courage-is-the-highest-quality-for-a-soldier-but-technology-is-a-fine/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [One cannot choose how one's life begins but one can choose to face the end with courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jet-li/one-cannot-choose-how-one-s-life-begins-but-one-can-choose-to-face/) [Jet Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jet-li/) > [Suffering is a great favor. Remember that everything soon comes to an end . . . and take courage. Think of how our gain is eternal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-of-vila/suffering-is-a-great-favor-remember-that-everything-soon-comes-to-an/) [Teresa of Avila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-of-vila/) > [One cannot chose how one's life begins... But one can chose to face the end with courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-cannot-chose-how-one-s-life-begins-but-one-can-chose-to-face-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [So to feel brave, act as if we were brave, use all our will to that end...and a courage-fit will very likely replace the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/so-to-feel-brave-act-as-if-we-were-brave-use-all-our-will-to-that-end/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Just let matters slide. How much better to accept each sweet drop of the honey that was Time, than to stoop to the vulgarity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yukio-mishima/just-let-matters-slide-how-much-better-to-accept-each-sweet-drop-of/) [Yukio Mishima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yukio-mishima/) > [Reformers have long observed city people loitering on busy corners, hanging around in candy stores and bars and drinking soda popon stoops, and have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/reformers-have-long-observed-city-people-loitering-on-busy-corners/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [ Just when you think \[Donald Trump\] can stoop no lower, he does. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-flake/just-when-you-think-donald-trump-can-stoop-no-lower-he-does/) [Jeff Flake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-flake/) > [Wealth accumulates, and men decay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/wealth-accumulates-and-men-decay/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [A man never stoops so low as when he rises to the challenge of politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/a-man-never-stoops-so-low-as-when-he-rises-to-the-challenge-of/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [A Christian in his surroundings should encourage everyone to be better, instead of being the one who stoops to be like everyone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/a-christian-in-his-surroundings-should-encourage-everyone-to-be/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [To what will love not stoop!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/to-what-will-love-not-stoop/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [I think the public doesn't understand that one of the reasons I haven't stood up for myself is because in order to do that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-broadwell/i-think-the-public-doesn-t-understand-that-one-of-the-reasons-i-haven/) [Paula Broadwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-broadwell/) ## More by George Farquhar > [Poetry's a mere drug, Sir.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-farquhar/poetry-s-a-mere-drug-sir/) [George Farquhar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-farquhar/) > [Poetry is a mere drug, Sir.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-farquhar/poetry-is-a-mere-drug-sir/) [George Farquhar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-farquhar/) > ['Tis a strange thing, Sam, that among us people can't agree the whole week, because they go different ways upon Sundays.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-farquhar/tis-a-strange-thing-sam-that-among-us-people-can-t-agree-the-whole/) [George Farquhar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-farquhar/) > [No woman can be a beauty without a fortune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-farquhar/no-woman-can-be-a-beauty-without-a-fortune/) [George Farquhar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-farquhar/) > [Women are like pictures: of no value in the hands of a fool till he hears men of sense bid high for the purchase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-farquhar/women-are-like-pictures-of-no-value-in-the-hands-of-a-fool-till-he/) [George Farquhar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-farquhar/) > [Grant me some wild expressions, Heavens, or I shall burst.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-farquhar/grant-me-some-wild-expressions-heavens-or-i-shall-burst/) [George Farquhar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-farquhar/) > [Hanging and marriage, you know, go by destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-farquhar/hanging-and-marriage-you-know-go-by-destiny/) [George Farquhar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-farquhar/) > [I have fed purely upon ale; I have eat my ale, drank my ale, and I always sleep upon ale.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-farquhar/i-have-fed-purely-upon-ale-i-have-eat-my-ale-drank-my-ale-and-i/) [George Farquhar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-farquhar/) > [There is no scandal like rags, nor any crime so shameful as poverty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-farquhar/there-is-no-scandal-like-rags-nor-any-crime-so-shameful-as-poverty/) [George Farquhar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-farquhar/) > [Observe this, that tho a woman swear, forswear, lie, dissemble, back-bite, be proud, vain, malicious, anything, if she secures the main chance, she's still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-farquhar/observe-this-that-tho-a-woman-swear-forswear-lie-dissemble-back-bite/) [George Farquhar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-farquhar/) > [The shortest pleasures are the sweetest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-farquhar/the-shortest-pleasures-are-the-sweetest/) [George Farquhar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-farquhar/) > [Tis the greatest misfortune in nature for a woman to want a confidant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-farquhar/tis-the-greatest-misfortune-in-nature-for-a-woman-to-want-a-confidant/) [George Farquhar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-farquhar/) > [When the blind lead the blind, no wonder they both fall into - matrimony.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-farquhar/when-the-blind-lead-the-blind-no-wonder-they-both-fall-into-matrimony/) [George Farquhar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-farquhar/) > [Sir, you shall taste my Anno Domini.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-farquhar/sir-you-shall-taste-my-anno-domini/) [George Farquhar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-farquhar/) > [False love is only blinder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-farquhar/false-love-is-only-blinder/) [George Farquhar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-farquhar/) [Explore all 41 George Farquhar quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-farquhar/) ## More Attributes quotes > [Lutherans, whose arguments and mistakes will not be difficult to contest or discover, do not want to attribute any value to works, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-servetus/lutherans-whose-arguments-and-mistakes-will-not-be-difficult-to/) [Michael Servetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-servetus/) > [If, for instance, they have heard something from the postman, they attribute it to a semi-official statement; if they have fallen into conversation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/if-for-instance-they-have-heard-something-from-the-postman-they/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-love-for-all-living-creatures-is-the-most-noble-attribute-of-man/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [I think the greatest imagination we can exercise is one that imagines how someone else feels. Because you know how you feel, but so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-gelbart/i-think-the-greatest-imagination-we-can-exercise-is-one-that-imagines/) [Larry Gelbart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-gelbart/) > [A lover asked his beloved, Do you love yourself more than you love me? Beloved replied, I have died to myself and I live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-lover-asked-his-beloved-do-you-love-yourself-more-than-you-love-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One of the greatest attributes of jazz, I think, is that it is that open.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbie-hancock/one-of-the-greatest-attributes-of-jazz-i-think-is-that-it-is-that-open/) [Herbie Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbie-hancock/) > [God is compassionate and just, loving and holy, wrathful and forgiving. WE can't sideline His more difficult attributes to make room for the palatable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/god-is-compassionate-and-just-loving-and-holy-wrathful-and-forgiving/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [I'm Irish and always will be, but America has taught me so much. Maybe it's here in the U.S. that we find a healing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fionnula-flanagan/i-m-irish-and-always-will-be-but-america-has-taught-me-so-much-maybe/) [Fionnula Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fionnula-flanagan/) > [“It is this spirit of godliness that will bring forth the attributes, the principles and the life style of godliness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/it-is-this-spirit-of-godliness-that-will-bring-forth-the-attributes/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [My Calvinism persuades me that we are open to God, in the sense that we are not delimited, not organisms with fixed attributes in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/my-calvinism-persuades-me-that-we-are-open-to-god-in-the-sense-that/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [A pivotal spiritual attribute is that of self-mastery-th e strength to place reason over appetite. Self-mastery builds a strong conscience. And your conscience determines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-m-nelson/a-pivotal-spiritual-attribute-is-that-of-self-mastery-th-e-strength/) [Russell M. 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Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/) > [If I have any attribute that serves me well, it's I don't have a long-range plan in life. I have no idea. I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wilbon/if-i-have-any-attribute-that-serves-me-well-it-s-i-don-t-have-a-long/) [Michael Wilbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wilbon/) [Browse all 852 Attributes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attributes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Courage, the highest gift, that scorns to bend To mean devices for a sordid end. Courage--an independent spark from Heaven's bright throne, By which the soul stands raised, triumphant high, alone. Great in itself, not praises of the crowd, Above all vice, it stoops not to be proud. Courage, the mighty attribute of powers above, By which those great in war, are great in love. 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