“A problem is a battlefield, only who dare face it survive.”

Bombastes Furioso (1810), Act i, scene 4, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919). Compare: "Let none but he these arms displace, Who dares Orlando's fury face", Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote, part ii, chapter lxvi; Ray, Proverbs; Thomas, English Prose Romance, page 85.

University of Havana address (2005)
Context: I would dare say that today this species is facing a very real and true danger of extinction, and no one can be sure, listen to this well, no one can be sure that it will survive this danger.
Well, the fact that the species would not survive was discussed about 2,000 years ago. I remember that when I was a student I heard of the Apocalypse, a book of prophesy in the Bible. Apparently, 2000 years ago someone realized that this weak species could one day disappear.

Quoted in Geary's Guide to the World's Great Aphorists (2007) by James Geary, p. 232

Original: In questo mondo, per sopravvivere devi essere una donna forte, coraggiosa, una donna che supera le difficoltà trasformandole in successi. Una donna con dedizione, intuizione, costanza, onore, lealtà e dolcezza. Una donna non per tutti, ma solo per chi osa averla al suo fianco.
Source: prevale.net

Source: Transcendental Magic: Its Doctrine and Ritual

《乌克兰宪政危机与政治决断》 ["Ukraine's constitutional crisis and political decisions"] (2004), translated by David Ownby in Rethinking China's Rise, p. 27

Day of Affirmation Address (1966)
Context: The second danger is that of expediency: of those who say that hopes and beliefs must bend before immediate necessities. Of course, if we must act effectively we must deal with the world as it is. We must get things done. But if there was one thing that President Kennedy stood for that touched the most profound feeling of young people around the world, it was the belief that idealism, high aspirations, and deep convictions are not incompatible with the most practical and efficient of programs — that there is no basic inconsistency between ideals and realistic possibilities, no separation between the deepest desires of heart and of mind and the rational application of human effort to human problems. It is not realistic or hardheaded to solve problems and take action unguided by ultimate moral aims and values, although we all know some who claim that it is so. In my judgment, it is thoughtless folly. For it ignores the realities of human faith and of passion and of belief — forces ultimately more powerful than all of the calculations of our economists or of our generals. Of course to adhere to standards, to idealism, to vision in the face of immediate dangers takes great courage and takes self-confidence. But we also know that only those who dare to fail greatly, can ever achieve greatly.

Inscription on the entrance to his grotto in Twickenham, published in "Verses on a Grotto by the River Thames at Twickenham, composed of Marbles, Spars and Minerals", line 14, (written 1740, published 1741); also quoted as "Who dared to love their country, and be poor."