Citation attribuée à Sénèque, philosophe stoïcien romain. Elle illustre la conception stoïcienne de la vertu comme maîtrise des passions et de la peur.
"Courage confronts fear and thus masters it. Cowardice represses fear and thus allows itself to be dominated by it. The courageous man remains enthusiastic, even in a desperate situation; the coward, crushed by the uncertainties of existence, loses the taste for life."