The courage of life is often a less dramatic spectacle than the courage of a final moment； but it is no less a magnificent mixture of triumph and tragedy. A man does what he must—in spite of personal consequences， in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures—and that is the basis of all human morality.
To be courageous... requires no exceptional qualifications， no magic formula， no special combination of time， place and circumstance. It is an opportunity that sooner or later is presented to us all. Politics merely furnishes one arena which imposes special tests of courage. In whatever arena of life one may meet challenge of courage， whatever may be the sacrifices he faces if he follows his conscience—the loss of his friends， his fortune， his contentment， even the esteem of his fellow men—each man must decide for himself the course he will follow. The stories of past courage can define that ingredient—they can teach， they can offer hope， they can provide inspiration. But they cannot supply courage itself. For this each man must look into his own soul.
微塵與棟梁
On Motes and Beams
威廉·薩默塞特·毛姆 / William Somerset Maugham
令人好奇的是，與他人的過失相比，我們自己的過失往往不是那麽可憎。我想，原因是我們了解一切導致過失出現的情況，因而，能夠想辦法原諒自己犯一些不容許他人犯的過錯。我們不關注自己的缺點，即使身陷困境，不得不正視它們時，我們也會很容易就寬恕自己。據我所知，我們這樣做是正確的。缺點是我們自己的一部分，我們必須接納自己的好與壞。
但當我們評判別人時，情況就不一樣了。我們不是通過真正的自我，而是用另外一種自我形象來判斷，完全摒除了在任何世人眼中，會傷害到自己的虛榮或者體麵的事物。舉一個小例子：當覺察到別人說謊時，我們是多麽地不屑啊！但是有誰可以說自己從未說過謊？可能還不止一百次呢！