Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

"'There's no courage', The Prophet said, 'before the war has begun.'
 Drunkards vaunt their bravery when you speak of war.
 But in the blaze of battle they scatter like mice.
 I'm astonished by the man who wants purity
 And yet trembles when the harshness of polishing begin...
 When a man beats a carpet again and again
 It's not the carpet he's attacking, but the dirt in it."
-- Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi (b. 1207, d. 1273-12-17), translated by Andrew Harvey

[I was going to use this during the rhetorical buildup to the next US war or new-front-in-ongoing-war ... but a recent post by Kat Tanaka Okopnik made me realize how else it applies.]