“Those who have never fought suppose that the deserter who flies the field is consumed by shame. He is not, or he would not desert; with only trifling exceptions, battles are fought by cowards afraid to run.”
Source: Fiction, The Book of the New Sun (1980–1983), The Urth of the New Sun (1987), Chapter 16, "The Epitome" (p. 114)
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Gene Wolfe102
American science fiction and fantasy writer 1931–2019Related quotes
“The field is fought—who walketh there?—
The shadow victory casts—Despair!”
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To troops who had abandoned their lines during the Battle of New Orleans (8 January 1815).
1810s