"It was Sir James Barrie who called courage "the lovely virtue," and Mark Twain who pointed out that it is "resistance to fear, mastery of fear . . . not absence of fear."

There is nothing brave or courageous in doing something you are not afraid to do; it is only when every nerve shrinks from the task or experience that faces you, but you go through with it just the same, that this can truly be called courage.

Modern life is full of instances of physical courage. The young men who explore undiscovered spaces, the men and women who work in all kinds of danger in order that their fellowmen may live safer lives-a long list could easily be made, but the kind of courage that lifts human beings to their greatest heights is moral courage.

A great part of the world's people lead lives of quiet, undiscovered, unrecognized courage. By this we do not mean to imply anything like the Pagliacci theme-laughter hiding the breaking heart. Rather, we refer to ordinary, everyday bravery.

There are women in every country who bring up families on too little money, giving them the best they have to give in loving care, and men who work at hard and unrewarding jobs, knowing that for them there will never be anything better, doing it not only with courage but with cheerfulness. There is nothing spectacular about this kind of courage, but it is there all the same.

The world's heroes are national and international figures, but "I sing the song of the man whom nobody knows and everybody loves," the small, unknown heroes.

There are the people who make mistakes (and it is worth remembering that one who never made a mistake never made anything) but who do not let it get them down, facing up to the consequences, never running away. These are the people who echo Charles Hamilton Aide's lines: "I sit beside my lonely fire, and pray for wisdom yet, for calmness to remember, and courage to forget."

Everyone is familiar with the stories of the great heroes; this writer would pin the red badge of courage on the breast of the "man whom nobody knows."

The courage of the blind student who gets the best grades in class-yes, and of the sighted teachers who make this achievement possible, and the crippled woman going for a holiday by bus and saying, "No, I can't walk . . . but I can look out the window." All these make up a tale of courage that makes one glad to be a part of the human race."