Meaning of “Self-trust is the essence of heroism.”

Narrative, Chapter X; the line follows Douglass’s physical resistance to Edward Covey and precedes his resolve never again to be a slave in fact.

Essays, First Series, essay II, “Self-Reliance,” Project Gutenberg #2944. “Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist” follows Emerson’s claim that society conspires against the manhood of its members through conformity. The represented Gutenberg witness prints a comma after “man,” while the frozen catalog quotation omits that punctuation; the wording is otherwise the same. It remains Transcendentalist moral rhetoric about self-trust and independence rather than a universal instruction to reject social norms or expertise.

Essay “Self-Reliance.”

Political Ideals, discussion of what social institutions should make possible for individuals. Russell immediately connects self-respect with courage, hope and living by the best within oneself despite obstacles.

Enchiridion, section X, George Long translation; Epictetus gives examples such as endurance under pain and patience under abuse.

Moral printed after “Hercules and the Wagoner” in the Townsend translation; Hercules first tells the driver to help himself.