Section 9: How courage involves both pain and pleasure

Though courage is concerned with feelings of confidence and of fear, it is not concerned with both in the same way. Rather, it is more concerned with the things that inspire fear. _[30] For he who is undisturbed in face of these and bears himself as he should towards these is more truly courageous than the person who does so towards the things that inspire confidence. Hence, as has been said, people are called “courageous” for facing what is painful. Thus courage involves pain and is justly praised. For it is harder to face what is painful than to abstain from what is pleasant.

Yet _[35] the goal which courage sets before itself would seem to be pleasant, but to be _[1117b1] concealed by the circumstances. This also happens in athletic contests. For the end at which boxers aim is pleasant–the crown of victory and the honors. But the blows they take are distressing and painful to those made of flesh and blood. And so is their whole exertion. And because there is a lot of pain and exertion, _[5] the goal for which they fight, which is but small, appears to have nothing pleasant about it.

If the case of courage is similar, then death and wounds will be painful to the courageous person and against his will. But he will face them because it is noble to do so or because it is shameful not to do so. And the more he is possessed of virtue in its entirety and the happier his life is, _[15] the more he will be pained at the prospect of death. For life is most worth living for such a person, and he is knowingly losing the greatest goods, which is painful. But he is nonetheless courageous, and perhaps all the more so, because he chooses noble deeds of war even at that cost. It is not the case, then, that the exercise of all the virtues is pleasant, _[15] except insofar as doing so attains the goal of virtue, which is to live nobly.

This is why the best professional soldiers are not necessarily men of this sort. They might be less brave, but they have no other goods in their lives. Thus they are ready to face danger, and they sell their lives for small profits.

So much, then, _[20] for courage. It is not difficult to grasp its nature in outline, at any rate, from what has been said.