Taken out of context, it would be. In context though it's a very important part of the novel. Atticus is telling his son that the next door neighbor who he loathed actually had real courage, not the kind you have with a gun in your hand but courage to stick to your principles all the way to death. Jem and Scout had been hero-worshipping their father a bit since the incident with the rabid dog and he's telling them that here's a different kind of couragee and one he admires more. It also foreshadows Atticus's own upcoming battle to stick to his principles in an impossible situation where he's licked already - and can't use a gun either.