When the will defies fear, when the heart applauds the brain, when duty throws the gauntlet down to fate, when honor scorns to compromise with death--this is heroism.

Ingersoll defines heroism not as victory or glory but as an inner moral posture under extreme pressure. The “will” resisting fear suggests deliberate choice rather than instinct; the “heart” applauding the “brain” implies that courage is most complete when emotion endorses reason instead of overwhelming it. “Duty” challenging “fate” frames heroism as action taken despite uncertainty and likely loss, while “honor” refusing to bargain with death rejects self-preservation as the ultimate value. The cumulative effect is a secular, ethical conception of heroism grounded in integrity and resolve rather than divine reward or romantic legend.