Books: Briton on Courage

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The Fixed Resolve. Modern war also puts a far greater strain on men's nerves than ancient warfare did. It has introduced monotony, terrible noise, ever-present danger of shell or bomb out of the distant blue, long-continued lack of any rest period or of any moment free from fear. Lord Moran defines courage as "a moral quality . . . not a chance gift of nature like an aptitude for games. It is a cold choice between two alternatives, the fixed resolve not to quit; an act of renunciation which must be made not once but many times by the power of the will. . . . Some men were able to see more fully than others could that there was no decent alternative to sticking it out and to see this not in a hot moment of impulse but steadily through many months of trial. They understood on what terms life was worthwhile."