“The better part of valour is discretion.”
Permalink: William Shakespeare
About this quote
Falstaff says it after the battle, explaining that the Prince has taken the crown and that his brother John deserves his fate. The line has been read for centuries as an argument for calculated risk, since the speaker means that the cautious half of courage is the half that keeps a person alive to fight again.
Source: Henry IV, Part 1, Act V, Scene 1