Who do you reckon is the braver race in general, men or elves?

[Thinlómien]

I have to side with those who think Men are braver. They know much less about the how the world and the things are and what happens to them after death. They have a short lifespan and if they make it even shorter, they lose something irreplaceable, unlike Elves who are more or less immortal. Also, Men have less (or so it seems to me) natural certainity, serenity and wisdom when it comes to facing a tough place, so they are bigger heroes if they master themselves. Maybe it's just because they're all so young comapared to the Elves - they don't have the calm and confidence hundreds or thousands of years of ups and downs bring.

I wrote this on the Which Middle Earth Race do you most identify with? thread some time ago, and still agree with it.

Originally Posted by me

The courage of the Men of the First Age always makes me cry. Just look at Húrin and Huor or Haleth. How the brothers fight against an evil foe bigger than them side-by-side with an immortal folk greater and more powerful than them, but still no way, do lesser deeds or display lesser courage, quite the opposite. And Haleth, she and her folk show that Humans can survive without the Elves' assistance and that there's great strength and courage in their people.