Life & Wisdom Quote by Christian Nestell Bovee

Bovee’s line reads like a piece of moral arithmetic: courage multiplies what you have; cowardice spends it down. That’s the trick of “resources” here. He’s not talking only about money or supplies, but the invisible inventory that decides outcomes in a crisis: attention, time, solidarity, improvisation, nerve. “Enlarges” suggests a mental economy where boldness doesn’t merely use resources efficiently; it creates them by unlocking options you couldn’t see while panicking. Fear narrows the field of vision until the only “plan” is self-protection, which is rarely compatible with collective survival.

The second sentence sharpens into social critique. In “desperate straits,” the timid don’t just suffer privately; they “aggravate” danger for everyone. That verb assigns responsibility. Timidity becomes contagious and disruptive: second-guessing a leader mid-emergency, spreading rumors, hoarding, freezing at the moment coordinated action is required. The brave, paradoxically, are imperiled not only by the external threat but by the internal drag of anxious people who turn a manageable problem into chaos.

Context matters: Bovee writes from a 19th-century American culture steeped in self-reliance, civic virtue, and the era’s fascination with character as destiny. The quote flatters bravery, yes, but it also warns against a specific civic failure: when fear becomes a public force, it taxes the community. Underneath the aphorism is an argument about leadership and morale: crises are partly material, partly psychological, and the psychological side can be the deciding front.