UNEVENLY DISTRIBUTED

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXXI, Issue 4951, 4 February 1937, Page 6

UNEVENLY DISTRIBUTED

COURAGE IN DARK DAYS. Unlike the quality of mercy, the quality of courage is strained. It seems very unevenly distributed; its forms are infinitely varied. That person is deemed abject who does not possess some measure of it, but probably no person possesses every form of it. Lord Roberts was a gallant soldier, about whom Rudyard Kipling fcaid: "If you stood 'im on 'is head you could spill a quart of lead." Yet it was alleged that Lord Roberts was scared to be in a room in which there was a black cat. When civilisation was primitive courage was considered almost exclusive to the warrior. Slowly other forms received some recognition, but only patronisingly. The real quality was persistently associated with the sounding of the bugle and the spectacular battle charge. It is to the credit of later generations that they have given the term a wider connotation. It is discerned that in the world's broad field of battle there is scope for the exercise of courage in circumstances not in the least martial. And among men' and women of all classes the quality is in myriad fashion being ceaselessly, splendidly displayed without the slightest thought of recognition or reward. It may justly be pleaded on behalf of the past that many forms of courage now applauded did not then exist. Doctors and nurses in seeking to save the lives of others from epidemic diseases, firemen and lifeboat men in rescuing those who would perish in the flames or in the waves, are finding once unknown outlets for human courage. Some of our modern scientists have heroically suffered mutilation of body and death itself in pursuit of knowledge that may benefit humanity. Explorers face risks in penetrating earth's still unknown recesses. Cruises to adjacent islands in the Pacific are'popular; they involve little cost and no courage. Yet it is not so very long since that to visit these islands required a very considerable amount of courage. Man and

v/omen missionaries possessing it went and won Chustian martyrdom in their efforts to win the island inhabitants from heathendom. To-day critics of missioners visit the islands with perfect safety. They are perhaps not always mindful that that safety was obtained for them at the price of other people's bravery. Australians more than others ought to be aware how essential courage is when days are dark and hope is nigh dead. Witness the pioneers. There were no cheering crowds around when the stout hearted men and women began to lay the foundations of the nation, which is now our pride. They entered upon a grim struggle against heavy odds, and with scant prospect of success. But it was not brawn alone, not even with added brain, that built up those traditions which are the boasted heritage of Australians. It was in the strength of a quality lodged in the heart that the victories of the pioneers were achieved. It is frequently called "grit," which is a colloquialism for courage. There are, and there is a constant need for, pioneers in all of life's diverse spheres, and the courage of each is constantly being tested. There are new doctrines, political, social and economic, of whose wisdom and righteousness you may be convinced earlier than are others, particularly others in your own set. Is your courage always equal to the test of ranging yourself on the side of the still unpopular and misunderstood cause? When at last it emerges from those dark days through which practically every good cause passes your approval will be loud and unstinted. But maybe you are not made of the Ftuff which inspires you to stand by the good cause when your support is most needed. The man who is to-day courageous for some novel ideal is in no danger of the stake or the halter; penalties have become more refined. But they would appear to be not less effective or less feared. The men or women who venture to be brave on behalf of an idea are apt to find themselves ostracised to a social Siberia. That is more than some seem able to suffer. The spirit of courage is often evoked, its fruits made certain by the

compulsion of dramatic circumstanslances. The sudden, self-sacrificing deed thrills and confirms one's faith in the inherent nobility of one's fellows. The courage which is spasmodic and impulsive is, however, apt to overshadow the courage that is real though not so readily recognisable, the courage that has no heroic setting but is simply steadfast. Life, happily, is inspiringly rich in it; if diligently sought for it will often be found hidden in the most unexpected of places. It is rarely associated with active force; it is more familiar in the form of passive endurance. It seeks, and it gets, no limelight, but it shines by its own radiance through days of material and spiritual darki:ess. In establishing his Heroes Fund Mr Andrew Carnegie said he had more particularly in mind the men and women who displayed "two o'clock in the morning" courage when all around was dark and chill. Human lives also have their "two o'clock in the morning" periods. When faith in trusted friends is unrooted by treacheries, when the verdict of incurable disease has been pronounced, when bereavement has made life for the future unbearably lonely, the only way of escape from that despair which would welcome death lies in the practice of steadfast courage. So reticent are life's true heroes and heroines that, all unsuspected by us, the man's the woman working next to us may bravely be practising it. The renowned Dr Norman Macleod was something more than a writer of stirring verse when he penned the familiar line: "Courage, brother, do not stumble. Though thy path be dark as night." He proceeded to state a proved fact as well as a profound spiritual truth when he added: "There's a star to guide the humble, trust in God and do the right."