Praise of courage

Fear was ranked by the Stoics among the four basic passions that take away peace of mind and cloud judgment. The rational man will therefore is not afraid, is courageous, and has no fear of struggle. “To live is to fight,” writes Seneca. Scipio gave the Romans the advice not to storm Carthage. For in him, they have a constant drive,..lest they lose their martial prowess.
Even in the Old Testament, they praise courageous warriors. But they do not forget to note that their courage is backed by the fear of God. They were not afraid of men because they believed in God and they relied on him more than they relied on their swords, their muscles, and military prowess.
In this sense, St. John Climacus also writes: “Fear presupposes a lack of faith,… lack of trust in God. The proud soul is in bondage to fear because it relies only on itself, and then it is afraid if it only moves a leaf or shadow. The fearful sometimes even lose their senses, they are all without themselves. This is natural, for the Lord rightly leaves the puffed-up, that we may learn from their example not to be proud.” Klimak, however, acknowledges that timidity is also a carnal weakness. He also thinks that this disease can be cured. The main thing is that the “trembling of the limbs” does not penetrate the spirit. According to him, mentally fearful people are all proud. Even if it makes does not imply, he adds, that night thief who are not afraid to dig graves are humble.
Christian Courage.
How do Christian writers define courage? A. le Gaudier defines it in these words, “It is a virtue, a virtue in which a man does not rely on his strength, but he relies hopefully on God’s help. In this way, he overcomes all fears and apprehensions of the toils and labors that occur during the spiritual life. He overcomes even the terror of death. He manfully offers to God his body and his soul to be consumed in the service of God by the fire of the most holy love of God.”
To courage, Origen gave the first place among the four cardinal virtues. For he lived at a time when it was considered martyrdom was considered the supreme and almost the only manifestation of holiness. Interestingly, however, the Church exalted martyrdom especially for children and women, because it was “in the weak generation” (cf., liturgical oration) the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit was better manifested.
This manifestation thus distinguishes Christian virtue from natural courage and fortitude. Militant tribes and militaristic states} encourage the education of youth in hardness, harshness, and fearlessness. Certainly, we are not opposed to healthy hardiness, but still, it is not the Christian ideal to raise rank-and-file soldiers for the Spartan legions. Gentle souls can be courageous in other ways than in battle or playing soldier. A Christian is courageous out of love for the truth. Most childish lies are out of fear. A fearful man will not dare to say calmly and openly that he doesn’t like something. He pretends easily, avoids direct questioning, and promises even what he cannot and does not intend to do. He is quick to show false humility. Those who have truly fallen in love with the truth, he will soon know that without courage …he will not defend it. The latter, however, presupposes several other virtues.
Trust in God.
The foundation of Christian courage is in the first place firm trust in God. This means, according to St. John Climacus, to eradicate unreasonable fearfulness, such as we have all more or less carried away from childhood, such as fear of darkness, loneliness, desolate places, etc. This saint writes: “If you are afraid of any place, do not hesitate to go there at night! If you let your fear overwhelm you, then this..childish and ridiculous passion will grow old in you. When you go there, arm yourself with prayer. When you get there, stretch out your hands and defeat your enemy in the name of Jesus. For there is no mightier weapon in heaven or on earth. When you then …when you are rid of your fear, give thanks to your deliverer. If you are grateful to him, he will always protect you. How ..the stomach is not filled with one hit, neither is fear overcome in a moment. The more alive the spirit of repentance is in a man, the quicker he will prevail. But the more comfortable we are, the longer we will remain in our fearfulness. When we have freed ourselves from all fear, there will be no neither devils, nor darkness, nor loneliness, but only the barrenness of our souls. Fear is sometimes the chastisement of God’s providence. He who is a servant of God fears only his Lord. He who does not fear his Lord is often afraid of his own shadow… “