A young soldier rationalizes his fleeing the battlefield.
Rationalizing 76 "…a defeat for the army this time might mean many favorable things for him…blows of the enemy would splinter regiments into fragments…many men of courage…would be obliged to desert the colors and scurry like chickens; he would appear as one of them…sullen brothers in distress, and he could then easily believe he had not run any farther or faster than they." Crane, The Red Badge of Courage.
Rationalizing 77 "In a defeat there would be a roundabout vindication of himself…thought it would prove, in a manner, that he had fled early because of his superior powers of perception… serious prophet upon predicting a flood should be the first man to climb a tree." Crane, The Red Badge of Courage.
Rationalizing 101 "His self-pride was now entirely restored…he had performed his mistakes in the dark, so he was still a man." Crane, The Red Badge of Courage. [i.e., no one saw his cowardly act.]
Rationalizing 102 " He remembered how some of the men had run from the battle…recalled their terror-struck faces…felt scorn for them…had surely been more fleet and more wild than was absolutely necessary…were weak…as for himself, he had fled with discretion and dignity." Crane, The Red Badge of Courage.
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