That man is not truly brave who is afraid either to seem or to be, when it suits him, a coward.
—Edgar Allan Poe (1809–49) American Poet
The cowards never started—and the weak died along the way.
—Unknown
The coward threatens when he is safe.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
A coward gets scared and quits. A hero gets scared, but still goes on.
—Unknown
It is the coward who fawns upon those above him. It is the coward who is insolent whenever he dares be so.
—Junius Unidentified English Writer
Cowards can never be moral.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian Hindu Political leader
It is better to be a coward for a minute than dead for the rest of your life.
—Irish Proverb
Covetousness like jealousy, when it has taken root, never leaves a person, but with their life. Cowardice is the dread of what will happen.
—Epictetus (55–135) Ancient Greek Philosopher
Don’t think of retiring from the world until the world will be sorry that you retire. I hate a fellow whom pride or cowardice or laziness drive into a corner, and who does nothing when he is there but sit and growl. Let him come out as I do, and bark.
—Samuel Johnson (1709–84) British Essayist
The human race is a race of cowards; and I am not only marching in that procession, but carrying a banner.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
Heroes are not known by the loftiness of their carriage; the greatest braggarts are generally the merest cowards.
—Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–78) Swiss-born French Philosopher
I am convinced that a light supper, a good night’s sleep, and a fine morning, have sometimes made a hero of the same man, who, by an indigestion, a restless night, and rainy morning, would have proved a coward.
—Earl of Chesterfield (1694–1773) English Statesman, Man of Letters
A coward is one who in a perilous emergency thinks with his legs.
—Ambrose Bierce (1842–1913) American Short-story Writer, Journalist
The coward calls the brave man rash, the rash man calls him a coward.
—Aristotle (384BCE–322BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher, Scholar
For cowards the road of desertion should be left open; they will carry over to the enemy nothing, but their fears.
—Christian Nestell Bovee (1820–1904) American Writer, Aphorist
Man gives every reason for his conduct save one, every excuse for his crimes save one, every plea for his safety save one; and that one is his cowardice.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
My valor is certainly going, it is sneaking off! I feel it oozing out as it were, at the palms of my hands!
—Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751–1816) Irish-born British Playwright, Poet, Elected Rep
There is a level of cowardice lower than that of the conformist: the fashionable non-conformist.
—Ayn Rand (1905–82) Russian-born American Novelist, Philosopher
Cowardice, as distinguished from panic, is almost always simply a lack of ability to suspend the functioning of the imagination.
—Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961) American Author, Journalist, Short Story Writer
When the adulation of life is gone, the coward sneaks to his death, but the brave live on.
—George Sewell (1687–1726) English Physician, Poet
Cowards die a thousand deaths. The valiant taste of death but once.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
Cowards are cruel, but the brave love mercy and delight to save.
—John Gay (1685–1732) English Poet, Dramatist
One of the chief misfortunes of honest people is that they are cowardly.
—Voltaire (1694–1778) French Philosopher, Author
Faint heart never won fair lady.
—Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616) Spanish Novelist
It is better to be the widow of a hero than the wife of a coward.
—Dolores Ibarruri (1895–1989) Spanish Communist Leader
Cowards falter, but danger is often overcome by those who nobly dare.
—Queen Elizabeth I (1533–1603) British Monarch
When cowardice is made respectable, its followers are without number both from among the weak and the strong; it easily becomes a fashion.
—Eric Hoffer (1902–83) American Philosopher, Author
Fear has its use but cowardice has none.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian Hindu Political leader
There are several good protections against temptations, but the surest is cowardice.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
To know what is right and not do it is the worst cowardice.
—Confucius (551–479 BCE) Chinese Philosopher