“If there were no heroes, there would be no heroism.”

“Where would be the merit if heroes were never afraid?”

Alphonse Daudet book Tartarin of Tarascon

“I am well aware that there is such a great craving in man for heroism and the heroic, and that hero worship forms not a small motif in his complex. I am also aware that, unless man believes in his own heroism and the heroism of others, he cannot achieve much or great things. We must, however, take proper care that we do not make a fetish of this cult of hero-worship, for then we will turn ourselves into votaries of false gods and prophets.”

Aung San (1915–1947) Burmese revolutionary leader

“Heroes abound at the dawn of civilizations, during pre-Homeric and Gothic epochs, when people, not having yet experienced spiritual torture, satisfy their thirst for renunciation through a derivative: heroism.”

Emil M. Cioran (1911–1995) Romanian philosopher and essayist

“If everyone was satisfied with himself, there would be no heroes.”

Mark Twain (1835–1910) American author and humorist

“Our fathers were demons,' Catarina said. 'Our mothers were heroes.”

Cassandra Clare (1973) American author

“Ah! much those ancient heroes were of old
As patterns of benignity extoll'd:
Whom, though their bosoms did with anger boil;
Rich gifts and softer words would reconcile.”

John Ogilby (1600–1676) Scottish academic

“There's no excuse for the young people not knowing who the heroes and heroines are or were”

Nina Simone (1933–2003) American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist

“They were at the wrong place at the wrong time naturally they became heroes”

George Lucas (1944) American film producer

“Heroes and victims are the product of the mood they were in when opportunity came or when circumstances were at their worst.”

Orson Scott Card (1951) American science fiction novelist