Theodore Roosevelt? Napoleon Bonaparte? Karen Grant? Ken Harris? George Grant? Karen Grant? Apocryphal?
Question for Quote Investigator: A prominent leader has received credit for a definition of courage using chiasmus which emphasizes tenacity:
Courage is not having the strength to go on; it is going on when you don’t have the strength.
These words have been attributed to U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt and to French military leader Napoleon Bonaparte. I am skeptical because I have not seen a solid citation. Would you please explore this topic?
Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest close match found by QI appeared in an eleven-line poem titled “Courage” by Ken Harris published in the “Springfield Daily News” of Springfield, Ohio in 1972. These were the first four lines. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:1
COURAGE isn’t having the strength to go on—
It’s going on when you haven’t got the strength.COURAGE isn’t confidence that comes from being aware of all that’s happening—
It’s walking through a dark woods when you don’t know what’s ahead.
Theodore Roosevelt died in 1919. The earliest attribution to him found by QI appeared in the 1997 book “Letters Home: Advice from the Wisest Men and Women of the Ages to Their Friends and Loved Ones” edited by George Grant and Karen Grant:2
Theodore Roosevelt to His Daughter Alice …
Courage is not having the strength to go on; it is going on when you don’t have the strength. Industry and determination can do anything that genius and advantage can do and many things that they cannot.
The authors provided a citation note at the end of the book to support the quotation:
Theodore Roosevelt, The Complete Works, vol. XIX, (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1926), p. 331
QI accessed this 1926 volume and determined that page 331 occurred in a section titled “The Great Adventure”. QI did not find the quotation on page 331. The volume also contained a section titled “Letters to His Children”. Unfortunately, QI did not find the quotation in this section or anywhere within the volume.3
QI also accessed the 1919 book “Theodore Roosevelt’s Letters to His Children” which is listed in the bibliography of the 1926 volume. QI did not find the quotation in this 1919 book.4
Based on these search efforts QI is unable to support the attribution of the quotation to Theodore Roosevelt at this time.
Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.
In 1979 a columnist in the “Alexandria Times-Tribune” printed a version of the poem by Ken Harris. The first four lines differed a bit from the 1972 version. The columnist stated that Ken Harris had died of leukemia on May 5 when he was thirty-seven.5
I seldom quote poetry, but below is a poem of such power that I felt it might strike you as it did me, and many others: My only comment is, I wish I had met Ken Harris, but he did leave me something, his poem.
COURAGE BY KEN HARRIS
Courage isn’t having the strength to go on…
it’s going on when you haven’t got the strength.Courage isn’t going just where the light is…
it’s following through the dark valleys.
In 1986 a columnist in “The West Carroll Gazette” of Oak Grove, Louisiana printed a version of the poem by Ken Harris that matched the 1979 version.6
In 1987 the book “Let’s Share a Devotion: A Book of Daily Meditations for Couples” compiled by Ralph L. McIntyre contained a version of the quotation without attribution using the phrase “do not have the strength” instead of “haven’t got the strength”.7
THOUGHT: Courage is not having strength to go on. It is going on when you do not have the strength.
In 1990 “The Complete Book of Zingers” compiled by Croft M. Pentz featured a section titled “Determination” which contained a few dozen sayings including the following three items without attribution:8
If you cannot be a runner-up, try not to be a runner down.
Courage isn’t having the strength to go on—it’s going on when you don’t have the strength.
If you don’t climb the mountain you can’t see the view.
In 1997 the quotation was attributed to Theodore Roosevelt in the book “Letters Home: Advice from the Wisest Men and Women of the Ages to Their Friends and Loved Ones” as mentioned previously.
The same quotation and attribution appeared in the 1999 book “Lost Causes: The Romantic Attraction of Defeated Yet Unvanquished Men and Movements” which was edited by the same authors, George Grant & Karen Grant:9
Courage is not having the strength to go on; it is going on when you don’t have the strength. Industry and determination can do anything that genius and advantage can do and many things that they cannot.
Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919)
In 2012 “The Mourner’s Book of Courage: 30 Days of Encouragement” by Alan D. Wolfelt printed the quotation together with an implausible attribution to Napoleon Bonaparte:10
Courage isn’t having the strength to go on—it is going on when you don’t have strength.
—Napoleon Bonaparte
In conclusion, based on the 1972 citation Ken Harris is the leading candidate for creator of this saying. Theodore Roosevelt received credit in 1997; however, QI has been unable to verify the supporting citation; hence, this attribution remains unlikely. The attribution to Napoleon Bonaparte also remains unsupported. Perhaps future researchers will uncover additional evidence.
Image Notes: Illustration of a rock climber from Martin Wyall at Unsplash. The image has been retouched, cropped, and resized.
Acknowledgement: Great thanks to Steve Herman, Tim Marchman, Brendan Keefe, and Eric Columbus whose discussion thread led QI to formulate this question and perform this exploration. Tim Marchman found the 2012 attribution to Napoleon. Special thanks to Jeff Prucher who pointed out the 1919 book “Theodore Roosevelt’s Letters to His Children”. Prucher noted that the quotation was absent from the 1926 and 1919 books.
- 1972 February 19, Springfield Daily News, Courage by Ken Harris, Quote Page 4, Column 6, Springfield, Ohio. (Newspapers_com) link ↩︎
- 1997, Letters Home: Advice from the Wisest Men and Women of the Ages to Their Friends and Loved Ones, Edited by George Grant & Karen Grant, Section: Courage, Quote Page 42, Notes Page 221, Cumberland House, Nashville, Tennessee. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 1926, The Works of Theodore Roosevelt National Edition, Volume XIX, The Foes of Our Own Household; The Great Adventure; Letters to His Children by Theodore Roosevelt, (Multiple searches indicated that the quotation was absent), Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York. (Verified with scans) link ↩︎
- 1919, Theodore Roosevelt’s Letters to His Children by Theodore Roosevelt, Edited by Joseph Bucklin Bishop, (Multiple searches indicated that the quotation was absent), Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York. (Verified with scans) link ↩︎
- 1979 September 5, Alexandria Times-Tribune, Smalltown, U.S.A. by Curt Ellis, Start Page 4, Quote Page 5, Column 2, Alexandria, Indiana. (Newspapers_com) link ↩︎
- 1986 January 15, The West Carroll Gazette, Oak Grove Community by Mrs. Helen Martin, Quote Page 8, Column 1, Oak Grove, Louisiana. (Newspapers_com) link ↩︎
- 1987 Copyright, Let’s Share a Devotion: A Book of Daily Meditations for Couples, Compiled and edited by Ralph L. McIntyre, Date: March 16, Quote Page 73, The Wesley Press, Marion, Indiana. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 1990 Copyright, The Complete Book of Zingers, Compiled by Croft M. Pentz, Topic: Determination, Quote Page 60, Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 1999, Lost Causes: The Romantic Attraction of Defeated Yet Unvanquished Men and Movements, Edited by George Grant & Karen Grant, Section: Courage, Quote Page 101, Cumberland House Publishing, Nashville, Tennessee. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 2012 Copyright, The Mourner’s Book of Courage: 30 Days of Encouragement by Alan D. Wolfelt, Day 26: Move Toward Reconciliation, Quote Page 156, Companion Press: An Imprint of the Center for Loss and Life Transition, Fort Collins, Colorado. (Verified with scans) ↩︎