Now I think that the quality--the grace of God--which St Peter's
character and story specially force on our notice, is, the true courage
which comes by faith. I say, the courage which comes by faith. There is
a courage which does not come by faith. There is brute courage, which
comes from hardness of heart, from stupidity, obstinacy, or anger, which
does not see danger, or does not feel pain. That is the courage of the
brute. One does not blame it, or call it wrong. It is good in its
place, as all natural things are, which God has made. It is good enough
for the brutes, but it is not good enough for man. You cannot trust it
in man. And the more a man is what a man should be, the less he can
trust it. The more mind and understanding a man has, so as to be able to
foresee danger, and measure it, the more chance there is of his brute
courage giving way. The more feeling a man has, the more keenly he feels
pain of body, or pain of mind, such as shame, loneliness, the dislike,
ridicule, and contempt of his fellow men; in a word, the more of a man he
is, and the less of a mere brute, the more chance there is of his brute
courage breaking down, just when he wants it most to keep him up, by
leaving him to play the coward and come to shame.
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