--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Courage is a strange thing: One can never…" description: "\"Courage is a strange thing: One can never be sure of it\" — Raymond Chandler" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aef/raymond-chandler-629_courage_courage-is-a-strange-thing-one-can-never_855833.jpg" --- # Courage is a strange thing: One can never be sure of it ![“Courage is a strange thing: One can never be sure of it” quote by Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aef/raymond-chandler-629_courage_courage-is-a-strange-thing-one-can-never_855833.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aef/raymond-chandler-629_courage_courage-is-a-strange-thing-one-can-never_855833.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aef/raymond-chandler-629_courage_courage-is-a-strange-thing-one-can-never_855833.jpg) > “Courage is a strange thing: One can never be sure of it” [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) ## 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 elusive; it appears without certainty, making it a paradoxical and mysterious quality. **In simple terms:** Courage is uncertain and strange. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty when acting bravely. Themes courage uncertainty paradox psychology literature Mood reflective thoughtful serious Type literary philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal challenges - career decisions - ethical dilemmas Key Concepts existential risk self‑trust heroism Questions to Reflect On - When have you acted despite not being sure? - What does courage feel like for you? A Different Perspective Courage can be misread as recklessness; fear may still dominate. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Courage Strange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage-strange-798658/) [Inspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiration/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Strange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange/) [Strange thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange-thing/) [Strange things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange-things/) [Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing/) [Thing Sure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-sure-308182/) ## Related quotes > [That is at bottom the only courage that is demanded of us: to have courage for the most strange, the most singular and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/that-is-at-bottom-the-only-courage-that-is-demanded-of-us-to-have-2/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [That is at bottom the only courage that is demanded of us: to have courage for the most strange, the most singular, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/that-is-at-bottom-the-only-courage-that-is-demanded-of-us-to-have/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [Hollywood is a strange, strange thing. I feel like I've been invited to a very exclusive ball and I'm just trying to make nice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-criss/hollywood-is-a-strange-strange-thing-i-feel-like-i-ve-been-invited-to/) [Darren Criss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-criss/) > [To us, men of the West, a very strange thing happened at the turn of the century; without noticing it, we lost science, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/to-us-men-of-the-west-a-very-strange-thing-happened-at-the-turn-of/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [Music is a strange thing. I would almost say it is a miracle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinrich-heine/music-is-a-strange-thing-i-would-almost-say-it-is-a-miracle/) [Heinrich Heine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinrich-heine/) > [The strange thing about television is that it - doesn't \*tell\* you everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-tevis/the-strange-thing-about-television-is-that-it-doesn-t-tell-you/) [Walter Tevis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-tevis/) > [before I could read, almost a baby, I imagined that God, this strange thing or person I heard about, was a book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rhys/before-i-could-read-almost-a-baby-i-imagined-that-god-this-strange/) [Jean Rhys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rhys/) > [Originality is a thing we constantly clamour for, and constantly quarrel with; as if, observes our author himself, any originality but our own could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/originality-is-a-thing-we-constantly-clamour-for-and-constantly/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [It is a strange thing to come home. While yet on the journey, you cannot at all realize how strange it will be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/selma-lagerl-f/it-is-a-strange-thing-to-come-home-while-yet-on-the-journey-you/) [Selma Lagerlöf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/selma-lagerl-f/) > [What a strange thing is man! And what a stranger is woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/what-a-strange-thing-is-man-and-what-a-stranger-is-woman/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [It's a strange thing to think of a man as can lift a chair with his teeth, and walk fifty mile on end, trembling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/it-s-a-strange-thing-to-think-of-a-man-as-can-lift-a-chair-with-his/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [It's a very strange thing when you make nature illegal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-rogan/it-s-a-very-strange-thing-when-you-make-nature-illegal/) [Joe Rogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-rogan/) > [The strange thing is, we never owned our own publishing; it was always getting bought and sold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mccartney/the-strange-thing-is-we-never-owned-our-own-publishing-it-was-always/) [Paul McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mccartney/) > [Humility is a strange thing. The minute you think you've got it, you've lost it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/6th-baronet-sir-edward-hulse/humility-is-a-strange-thing-the-minute-you-think-you-ve-got-it-you-ve/) [6th Baronet Sir Edward Hulse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/6th-baronet-sir-edward-hulse/) > [The werewolf film is a strange thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-zahn/the-werewolf-film-is-a-strange-thing/) [Steve Zahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-zahn/) ## More by Raymond Chandler > [Television's perfect. You turn a few knobs, a few of those mechanical adjustments at which the higher apes are so proficient, and lean back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/television-s-perfect-you-turn-a-few-knobs-a-few-of-those-mechanical/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [There is no trap so deadly as the trap you set for yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/there-is-no-trap-so-deadly-as-the-trap-you-set-for-yourself/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Common sense is the guy who tells you that you ought to have had your brakes relined last week before you smashed a front…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/common-sense-is-the-guy-who-tells-you-that-you-ought-to-have-had-your/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [ “Hammett was the ace performer... He is said to have lacked heart; yet the story he himself thought the most of \[The Glass Key\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/hammett-was-the-ace-performer-he-is-said-to-have-lacked-heart-yet-the/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [She jerked away from me like a startled fawn might, if I had a startled fawn and it jerked away from me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/she-jerked-away-from-me-like-a-startled-fawn-might-if-i-had-a/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [A good story cannot be devised; it has to be distilled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/a-good-story-cannot-be-devised-it-has-to-be-distilled/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Dashiell Hammett took murder out of theVenetian vase and dropped it into the alley.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/dashiell-hammett-took-murder-out-of-thevenetian-vase-and-dropped-it/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [ “He \[James Cain\] is every kind of writer I detest...a Proust in greasy overalls, a dirty little boy with a piece of chalk and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/he-james-cain-is-every-kind-of-writer-i-detest-a-proust-in-greasy/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [It was a blonde. A blonde to make a bishop kick a hole in a stained-glass window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/it-was-a-blonde-a-blonde-to-make-a-bishop-kick-a-hole-in-a-stained/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [“I had been stalking the bluebottle fly for five minutes, waiting for him to sit down. He didn't want to sit down. He just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/i-had-been-stalking-the-bluebottle-fly-for-five-minutes-waiting-for/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [“A three-piece Mexican band was making the kind of music a Mexican band always makes. Whatever they play, it all sounds the same. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/a-three-piece-mexican-band-was-making-the-kind-of-music-a-mexican/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Mostly I just kill time," he said, "and it dies hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/mostly-i-just-kill-time-he-said-and-it-dies-hard/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [“The book was not new. Dates were stamped on the front endpaper, in and out dates. A rent book. A lending library of elaborate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/the-book-was-not-new-dates-were-stamped-on-the-front-endpaper-in-and/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Without magic, there is no art. Without art, there is no idealism. Without idealism, there is no integrity. Without integrity, there is nothing but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/without-magic-there-is-no-art-without-art-there-is-no-idealism/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [“The homicide skipper that year was a Captain Gregorius, a type of copper that is getting rarer but by no means extinct, the kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/the-homicide-skipper-that-year-was-a-captain-gregorius-a-type-of/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) [Explore all 430 Raymond Chandler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) ## More Courage quotes > [The greatest act of courage is to be and to ownall of who you are—without apology, without excuses, without masks to cover the truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-ford/the-greatest-act-of-courage-is-to-be-and-to-ownall-of-who-you-are/) [Debbie Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-ford/) > [“It takes tremendous courage, persistence, and perseverance to pursue your ultimate purpose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/it-takes-tremendous-courage-persistence-and-perseverance-to-pursue/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [“Yes, the issue was courage. It always had been, even as a kid. Things scared him. He couldn't help it. Noise scared him, dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/yes-the-issue-was-courage-it-always-had-been-even-as-a-kid-things/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [Our young Marines of today are courageous, willing to make sacrifices, and are marvelous team players. I am confident our Corps, and indeed our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-t-conway/our-young-marines-of-today-are-courageous-willing-to-make-sacrifices/) [James T. Conway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-t-conway/) > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“Tranquillity is courage in repose. It is a statical manifestation of valor, as daring deeds are a dynamical. A truly brave man is ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/inazo-nitobe/tranquillity-is-courage-in-repose-it-is-a-statical-manifestation-of/) [Inazo Nitobe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/inazo-nitobe/) > [When you heed the calling of your heart, you are following your purpose. Having purpose in your life gives you the courage to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhonda-britten/when-you-heed-the-calling-of-your-heart-you-are-following-your/) [Rhonda Britten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-britten/) > [“Of all the train, none escaped except Wamba, who showed upon the occasion much more courage than those who pretended to greater sense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-scott/of-all-the-train-none-escaped-except-wamba-who-showed-upon-the/) [Walter Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-scott/) > [The four Cs of making dreams come true: Curiosity, Courage, Consistency, Confidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/the-four-cs-of-making-dreams-come-true-curiosity-courage-consistency/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [Certainly these are not easy times. But history does not contain very many easy times. Years from now, we will look back at this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-ingraham/certainly-these-are-not-easy-times-but-history-does-not-contain-very/) [Laura Ingraham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-ingraham/) > [Have the courage to go against the tide of current values that do not conform to the path of Jesus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/have-the-courage-to-go-against-the-tide-of-current-values-that-do-not/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [“There is nothing purer, braver, or more beautiful than the try.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-armstrong/there-is-nothing-purer-braver-or-more-beautiful-than-the-try/) [Kristen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-armstrong/) > [“One theory on cannibals, of course, is that they eat parts of their slain enemies to benefit from that person's greatest assets - their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-powell/one-theory-on-cannibals-of-course-is-that-they-eat-parts-of-their/) [Julie Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-powell/) > [It is a tragedy that we live in a world where physical courage is so common, and moral courage is so rare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/it-is-a-tragedy-that-we-live-in-a-world-where-physical-courage-is-so/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [I have pictures with Morimoto where I'm all embarrassed and he's so serious, it took me 30 minutes to get up the courage to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcela-valladolid/i-have-pictures-with-morimoto-where-i-m-all-embarrassed-and-he-s-so/) [Marcela Valladolid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcela-valladolid/) [Browse all 14,559 Courage quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Courage is a strange thing: One can never be sure of it", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Raymond Chandler" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/courage-is-a-strange-thing-one-can-never-be-sure-of-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Courage" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/courage-is-a-strange-thing-one-can-never-be-sure-of-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aef/raymond-chandler-629_courage_courage-is-a-strange-thing-one-can-never_855833.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aef/raymond-chandler-629_courage_courage-is-a-strange-thing-one-can-never_855833.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aef/raymond-chandler-629_courage_courage-is-a-strange-thing-one-can-never_855833.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Courage is a strange thing: One can never be sure of it” — Raymond Chandler", "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": "Raymond Chandler", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Courage is a strange thing: One...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/courage-is-a-strange-thing-one-can-never-be-sure-of-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/courage-is-a-strange-thing-one-can-never-be-sure-of-it/#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 } } ] } ```