“There are worser ills to face
Than foemen in the fray;
And many a man has fought because—
He feared to run away.”
Act. iv. Sc. 3.
The Marriage of Guenevere (1891)
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Richard Hovey 16
American writer 1864–1900Related quotes

“It came to him merely to run away was folly, because he could never run away from himself.”
Babbitt (1922), Ch. 25

Session 297, Page 136
The Early Sessions: Sessions 1-42, 1997, The Early Sessions: Book 7

Moralia: Sayings of Kings and Commanders, Plutarch; English translation by Frank Cole Babbitt
Variant translation by Goodwin:
He that is afraid of scoffs and reproaches is more a coward than he that flies from the enemy.

Sancho to Don Quixote, in Ch. 9, Peter Anthony Motteux translation (1701).
Don Quixote de la Mancha (1605–1615), Part I, Book III
Context: To withdraw is not to run away, and to stay is no wise action when there is more reason to fear than to hope. 'Tis the part of a wise man to keep himself today for tomorrow, and not venture all his eggs in one basket. And though I am but a clown, or a bumpkin, as you may say, yet I would have you to know I know what is what, and have always taken care of the main chance...