Norm:
Thanks for your thoughtful reply.

Liza:
> So I don't agree with Shakespeare's Falstaff. I think 500 years of
> timid adults jumped (with great ENTHUSIASM) on this well-crafted
> phrase - and have used it to justify their lack of courage.

Norm:

>From Merriam-Webster (http://www.m-w.com/) ...

Main Entry: dis·cre·tion
Pronunciation: dis-'kre-sh&n
Function: noun
Date: 14th century
1 : the quality of being discreet : CIRCUMSPECTION; especially :
cautious
reserve in speech
2 : ability to make responsible decisions
3 a : individual choice or judgment <left the decision to his
discretion> b
: power of free decision or latitude of choice within certain legal bounds
<reached the age of discretion>
4 : the result of separating or distinguishing

The meaning that I intended to imply is 3a and 4.  Enthusiasm makes
energy
available; discretion directs it or suppresses it.  Discretion, in 3a,
may
be read as "To do or not to do; that is the question."  Choosing to do
something daring, or even rash, may be the outcome.

Liza:
> I'd much rather see someone brave and stupid, then someone who
> deliberates and deliberates and deliberates because he doesn't want
> to get hurt, or make a mistake.

Norm:
As I said above, discretion does not have to mean that one wishes to
avoid
risk.  To bring it back on-topic: eating raw meat is thought, by most,
to be
extremely foolhardy; much deliberation went into making the decision
to do
so, for me.