Ryan Holiday’s bestselling trilogy—The Obstacle Is the Way, Ego is the Enemy, and Stillness is the Key—has captivated professional athletes, CEOs, politicians, and entrepreneurs, and brought the ancient wisdom of Stoicism to millions of readers. Now, in the first book of an exciting new series dedicated to the cardinal virtues of ancient philosophy, Holiday explores the most foundational virtue of all: Courage.
Throughout history, nearly every religion, spiritual practice, and philosophy has confronted the challenge of fear. The most frequently repeated phrase in the Bible is "Be not afraid." The ancient Greeks spoke of phobos—panic and terror. Fear, the Stoics believed, is a natural human experience, yet it must not dominate us. Courage, then, is the ability to transcend fear, to act rightly, to rise to what is necessary, and to stand firmly in the face of truth. It lies at the heart of the teachings of Marcus Aurelius, Aristotle, and C.S. Lewis, and is inseparable from the virtues of temperance, justice, and wisdom.
