discretion is the better part of valor

In Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part I when Prince Hal finds the cowardly Falstaff pretending to be dead on the battlefield, the prince assumes he has been killed. After the prince leaves the stage, Falstaff rationalizes “The better part of Valour, is Discretion; in the which better part, I haue saued my life” (spelling and punctuation from the First Folio, Act 5, Scene 3, lines 3085–3086).Falstaff is saying that the best part of courage is caution, which we are to take as a joke. Truly courageous people may be cautious, but caution is not the most important characteristic of courage.This passage is loosely alluded to in the saying “discretion is the better part of valor,” which is usually taken to mean that caution is better than rash courage or that discretion is the best kind of courage. Only Shakespeare scholars are likely to be annoyed by this usage.However, those who take “discretion” in this context to mean the quality of being discreet—cautiously quiet—are more likely to annoy their readers.Much more of a

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• woman vs women
• writting vs writing
• absorbtion vs absorption
• gaurd vs guard
• extend vs extent
• dateline vs deadline
• practicle vs practical
• appauled vs appalled
• buttox vs buttocks

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  Steve Kroner subbing for Susan Slusser for Game 2 of the Mariners-A’s series: After sitting out Friday night’s game, both Coco Crisp (heel) and Josh Donaldson (hamstring cramp) have returned to the A’s lineup Saturday. Donaldson left after the 15th inning of Thursday’s 3-2, 18-inning win over the Yankees. For him, that departure was a “discretion is the better part of valor” decision. “I was ...
  June 15, 2013 - San Francisco Chronicle