--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: [C]ourage is reckoned the greatest of all…" description: "\"[C]ourage is reckoned the greatest of all virtues; because, unless a man has that virtue, he has no security for preserving any other.\" — Samuel Johnson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e50/samuel-johnson-50_be-brave_c-ourage-is-reckoned-the-greatest-of-all_2699825.png" --- # \[C\]ourage is reckoned the greatest of all virtues… ![“[C]ourage is reckoned the greatest of all virtues; because, unless a man has that virtue, he has no security for preserving any other.” quote by Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e50/samuel-johnson-50_be-brave_c-ourage-is-reckoned-the-greatest-of-all_2699825.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e50/samuel-johnson-50_be-brave_c-ourage-is-reckoned-the-greatest-of-all_2699825.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e50/samuel-johnson-50_be-brave_c-ourage-is-reckoned-the-greatest-of-all_2699825.png) > “\[C\]ourage is reckoned the greatest of all virtues; because, unless a man has that virtue, he has no security for preserving any other.” [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Courage underpins all virtues; without it, other moral strengths lack protection. **In simple terms:** Courage is the foundation of virtue. Key Takeaway Cultivate bravery. Themes ethics philosophy personal growth Mood inspirational thoughtful Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - leadership - personal development - risk taking Key Concepts virtue ethics security self-reliance Questions to Reflect On - What does courage enable you to protect? - Can virtue exist without bravery? A Different Perspective Courage alone may not guarantee success. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bravery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bravery/) [Bravery and courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bravery-and-courage/) [Bravery and fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bravery-and-fear/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Cybersecurity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cybersecurity/) [Fear and courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear-and-courage/) [Meaningful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaningful/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Security](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/security/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) [Virtues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtues/) ## Related quotes > [Courage is reckoned the greatest of all virtues; because, unless a man has that virtue, he has no security for preserving any other](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/courage-is-reckoned-the-greatest-of-all-virtues-because-unless-a-man/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Courage is not the absence of fear; it is the absence of self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-mcmanus/courage-is-not-the-absence-of-fear-it-is-the-absence-of-self/) [Erwin McManus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-mcmanus/) > [It takes a touch of genius-and a lot of Courage-to move in the opposite direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/it-takes-a-touch-of-genius-and-a-lot-of-courage-to-move-in-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Courage isn't the absence of fear; it's the dealing with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-tex-cobb/courage-isn-t-the-absence-of-fear-it-s-the-dealing-with-it/) Randall "Tex" Cobb > [Courage is the form of every virtue at the testing point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-g-robbins/courage-is-the-form-of-every-virtue-at-the-testing-point/) [Lynn G. Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-g-robbins/) > [Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/courage-is-not-the-absence-of-fear-but-rather-the-judgement-that-3/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are so many ways to be brave in this world. Sometimes it involves giving up everything you have ever known, or everyone you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/there-are-so-many-ways-to-be-brave-in-this-world-sometimes-it/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [Courage is not the absence of fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-stengel/courage-is-not-the-absence-of-fear/) [Richard Stengel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-stengel/) > [Except a person be part coward, it is not a compliment to say he is brave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/except-a-person-be-part-coward-it-is-not-a-compliment-to-say-he-is/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [For without belittling the courage with which men have died, we should not forget those acts of courage with which men have lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/for-without-belittling-the-courage-with-which-men-have-died-we-should/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [When you look fear in the face, you are able to say to yourself, 'I lived through this horror. I can take the next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/when-you-look-fear-in-the-face-you-are-able-to-say-to-yourself-i/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [You gain strength, courage, and confidence by doing the thing which you think you cannot do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/you-gain-strength-courage-and-confidence-by-doing-the-thing-which-you/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [A coward turns away, but a brave man's choice is danger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/a-coward-turns-away-but-a-brave-man-s-choice-is-danger/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/without-courage-we-cannot-practice-any-other-virtue-with-consistency/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [One isn't necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/one-isn-t-necessarily-born-with-courage-but-one-is-born-with-potential/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## More by Samuel Johnson > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [You can never be wise unless you love reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/you-can-never-be-wise-unless-you-love-reading/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [If our aim is to praise, we should forget to criticize; if our aim is to criticize, we should remember to praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/if-our-aim-is-to-praise-we-should-forget-to-criticize-if-our-aim-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [All theory is against free will; all experience is for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/all-theory-is-against-free-will-all-experience-is-for-it/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Had I learned to fiddle, I should have done nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/had-i-learned-to-fiddle-i-should-have-done-nothing-else/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [It is as foolish to make experiments upon the constancy of a friend, as upon the chastity of a wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-is-as-foolish-to-make-experiments-upon-the-constancy-of-a-friend/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Resolve not to be poor: whatever you have, spend less. Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness; it certainly destroys liberty, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/resolve-not-to-be-poor-whatever-you-have-spend-less-poverty-is-a/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The basis of all excellence is truth: he that professes love ought to feel its power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-basis-of-all-excellence-is-truth-he-that-professes-love-ought-to/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Words are daughters of earth but ideas are sons of heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/words-are-daughters-of-earth-but-ideas-are-sons-of-heaven/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“The composition of Shakespeare is a forest, in which oaks extend in the air, interspersed sometimes with weeds and brambles, and sometimes giving shelting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-composition-of-shakespeare-is-a-forest-in-which-oaks-extend-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“The cherubim were never intended as an object of worship, because they were only the appendices to another thing. But a thing is then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-cherubim-were-never-intended-as-an-object-of-worship-because-they/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Nobody has the right to put another under such a difficulty that he must either hurt the person by telling the truth or hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/nobody-has-the-right-to-put-another-under-such-a-difficulty-that-he/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [That kind of life is most happy which affords us most opportunities of gaining our own self-esteem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/that-kind-of-life-is-most-happy-which-affords-us-most-opportunities/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The time will come to every human being when it must be known how well he can bear to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-time-will-come-to-every-human-being-when-it-must-be-known-how/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) [Explore all 1,998 Samuel Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## More Be brave quotes > [If You Love Someone, Be Brave Enough To Tell Them., Otherwise Be Brave Enough To Watch Them To Be Loved By Someone Else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bilal-zahoor/if-you-love-someone-be-brave-enough-to-tell-them-otherwise-be-brave/) [Bilal Zahoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bilal-zahoor/) > [Be convinced that to be happy means to be free and that to be free means to be brave. Therefore do not take lightly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/be-convinced-that-to-be-happy-means-to-be-free-and-that-to-be-free/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [I admire machinery as much is any man, and am as thankful to it as any man can be for what it does for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-admire-machinery-as-much-is-any-man-and-am-as-thankful-to-it-as-any/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [To be able to live and train in Iraq under these circumstances you need to be brave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-able-to-live-and-train-in-iraq-under-these-circumstances-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Be brave! Be strong! Be fearless! Once you have taken up the spiritual life, fight as long as there is any life in you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/be-brave-be-strong-be-fearless-once-you-have-taken-up-the-spiritual/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Sometimes I think I'm a nihilist because it doesn't matter, none of this matters. We're all following the will of some unknowable higher power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ottessa-moshfegh/sometimes-i-think-i-m-a-nihilist-because-it-doesn-t-matter-none-of/) [Ottessa Moshfegh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ottessa-moshfegh/) > [Let us be brave in the face of adversity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-elder/let-us-be-brave-in-the-face-of-adversity/) [Seneca the Elder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-elder/) > [So that my life be brave, what though not long?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-drummond/so-that-my-life-be-brave-what-though-not-long/) [William Drummond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-drummond/) > [You can plan to be brave - it's even better if you just try to be brave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/you-can-plan-to-be-brave-it-s-even-better-if-you-just-try-to-be-brave/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [We are in a tight corner, now, I agree. But we have been in tight corners before and come out of them. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-hoffman/we-are-in-a-tight-corner-now-i-agree-but-we-have-been-in-tight/) [Mary Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-hoffman/) > [ Before \[Hindus and Moslems\] dare think of freedom, they must be brave enough to love one another, to tolerate one another's religion, even prejudices… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/before-hindus-and-moslems-dare-think-of-freedom-they-must-be-brave/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [The real problem with big issues like Medicare is that both parties have to be brave at the same time. Every pollster will tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cooper/the-real-problem-with-big-issues-like-medicare-is-that-both-parties/) [Jim Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cooper/) > [Fear is the raw material from which courage is manufactured. Without it, we wouldn't even know what it means to be brave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/fear-is-the-raw-material-from-which-courage-is-manufactured-without/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [Pain nourishes courage. You can't be brave if you've only had wonderful things happen to you. Pain is inevitable. Misery is optional. Physical pain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara/pain-nourishes-courage-you-can-t-be-brave-if-you-ve-only-had/) [Barbara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara/) > [You make choices and sometimes they're good and sometimes they backfire. The most important thing is to be brave, forgive yourself when you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersey-clemons/you-make-choices-and-sometimes-they-re-good-and-sometimes-they/) [Kiersey Clemons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersey-clemons/) Browse all 333 Be brave quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "[C]ourage is reckoned the greatest of all virtues; because, unless a man has that virtue, he has no security for preserving any other.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Samuel Johnson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/c-ourage-is-reckoned-the-greatest-of-all-virtues-because-unless-a-man/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Be brave" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/c-ourage-is-reckoned-the-greatest-of-all-virtues-because-unless-a-man/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e50/samuel-johnson-50_be-brave_c-ourage-is-reckoned-the-greatest-of-all_2699825.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e50/samuel-johnson-50_be-brave_c-ourage-is-reckoned-the-greatest-of-all_2699825.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e50/samuel-johnson-50_be-brave_c-ourage-is-reckoned-the-greatest-of-all_2699825.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“[C]ourage is reckoned the greatest of all virtues; because, unless a man has that virtue, he has no security…” — Samuel Johnson", "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": "Samuel Johnson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "[C]ourage is reckoned the greatest of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/c-ourage-is-reckoned-the-greatest-of-all-virtues-because-unless-a-man/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/c-ourage-is-reckoned-the-greatest-of-all-virtues-because-unless-a-man/#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 } } ] } ```