--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Don't limp in front of the lame." description: "\"Don't limp in front of the lame.\" — Francois Rabelais" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/180/francois-rabelais-2038_circumspection_don-t-limp-in-front-of-the-lame-2883564_2883564.png" --- # Don't limp in front of the lame. ![“Don't limp in front of the lame.” quote by Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/180/francois-rabelais-2038_circumspection_don-t-limp-in-front-of-the-lame-2883564_2883564.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/180/francois-rabelais-2038_circumspection_don-t-limp-in-front-of-the-lame-2883564_2883564.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/180/francois-rabelais-2038_circumspection_don-t-limp-in-front-of-the-lame-2883564_2883564.png) > “Don't limp in front of the lame.” [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Do not show weakness before those who are already disadvantaged. **In simple terms:** Don't limp before the lame. Key Takeaway Show strength, protect the vulnerable. Themes strength compassion leadership Mood serious thoughtful Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - public speaking - community service - mentoring Key Concepts ethical conduct social responsibility Questions to Reflect On - How to support without condescension? - When is humility appropriate? A Different Perspective May be seen as harsh or insensitive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Decorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decorum/) ## Related quotes > [ Do not limp before the lame. \[Old Fr., Ne clochez pas devant les boyteus.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/do-not-limp-before-the-lame-old-fr-ne-clochez-pas-devant-les-boyteus/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [“Do not limp before the lame, deeming it a kindness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/do-not-limp-before-the-lame-deeming-it-a-kindness/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [“She got dressed at the side of the pool, schooled her limp into a rolling gait and headed for the hall.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-courtnix/she-got-dressed-at-the-side-of-the-pool-schooled-her-limp-into-a/) Sally Courtnix > [It is a true proverb, that if you live with a lame man, you will learn to limp.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/it-is-a-true-proverb-that-if-you-live-with-a-lame-man-you-will-learn/) [Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarch/) > [You are good when you walk to your goal firmly and with bold steps. Yet you are not evil when you go thither limping.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/you-are-good-when-you-walk-to-your-goal-firmly-and-with-bold-steps/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Life is life. You do a lot of different things and you have great adventures but there's not a lot to talk about unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-plant/life-is-life-you-do-a-lot-of-different-things-and-you-have-great/) [Robert Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-plant/) > [If we suffer tamely a lawless attack upon our liberty, we encourage it, and involve others in our doom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/if-we-suffer-tamely-a-lawless-attack-upon-our-liberty-we-encourage-it/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [“Eloquence in public assemblies is not the surest road to fame and preferment, at least unless it be used with great caution, very rarely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/eloquence-in-public-assemblies-is-not-the-surest-road-to-fame-and/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [Let us contemplate our forefathers, and posterity, and resolve to maintain the rights bequeathed to us from the former, for the sake of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/let-us-contemplate-our-forefathers-and-posterity-and-resolve-to/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [By playing at Chess then, we may learn... First: Foresight. Second: Circumspection. Third: Caution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/by-playing-at-chess-then-we-may-learn-first-foresight-second/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Caution is the daughter of circumspection, but she tends to outgrow her mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-grillparzer/caution-is-the-daughter-of-circumspection-but-she-tends-to-outgrow/) [Franz Grillparzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-grillparzer/) > [“What was needed now was not bravery, but circumspection.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells-2/what-was-needed-now-was-not-bravery-but-circumspection/) [H.G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells-2/) > [“You're thinking about something, and it makes you forget to talk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/you-re-thinking-about-something-and-it-makes-you-forget-to-talk/) [Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/) > [Descrimate between persons who are interacting with you in your personal life on regular basis, and treat them accordingly. A high level of circumspection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chandrababu-vs/descrimate-between-persons-who-are-interacting-with-you-in-your/) [Chandrababu VS](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chandrababu-vs/) > [A beautiful woman, if poor, should use double circumspection; for her beauty will tempt others, her poverty herself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/a-beautiful-woman-if-poor-should-use-double-circumspection-for-her/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) ## More by Francois Rabelais > [Time, which wears down and diminishes all things, augments and increases good deeds, because a good turn liberally offered to a reasonable man grows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/time-which-wears-down-and-diminishes-all-things-augments-and/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [If in your soil it takes, to heaven A thousand thousand thanks be given; And say with France, it goodly goes, Where the Pantagruelion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/if-in-your-soil-it-takes-to-heaven-a-thousand-thousand-thanks-be/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [A child is not a vase to be filled, but a fire to be lit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/a-child-is-not-a-vase-to-be-filled-but-a-fire-to-be-lit/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [A certain jollity of mind, pickled in the scorn of fortune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/a-certain-jollity-of-mind-pickled-in-the-scorn-of-fortune/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Indeed, said the monk, a mass, a matins, and vespers well rung are half-said.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/indeed-said-the-monk-a-mass-a-matins-and-vespers-well-rung-are-half/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [I do not drink more than a sponge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/i-do-not-drink-more-than-a-sponge/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [ I recognize in \[my readers\] a specific form and individual property, which our predecessors called Pantagruelism, by means of which they never take anything… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/i-recognize-in-my-readers-a-specific-form-and-individual-property/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Tell the truth and shame the devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/tell-the-truth-and-shame-the-devil/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Half the world does not know how the other half lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/half-the-world-does-not-know-how-the-other-half-lives/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [But where are the snows of last year? That was the greatest concern of Villon, the Parisian poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/but-where-are-the-snows-of-last-year-that-was-the-greatest-concern-of/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [The Lord forbid that I should be out of debt, as if indeed I could not be trusted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/the-lord-forbid-that-i-should-be-out-of-debt-as-if-indeed-i-could-not/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Science sans conscience n' est que le ruine de l'âme. Knowledge without conscience is but the ruine of the soule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/science-sans-conscience-n-est-que-le-ruine-de-l-me-knowledge-without/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [I've often heard it said, as the common proverb goes, that a fool can teach a wise man well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/i-ve-often-heard-it-said-as-the-common-proverb-goes-that-a-fool-can/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [One falls to the ground in trying to sit on two stools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/one-falls-to-the-ground-in-trying-to-sit-on-two-stools/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Go, all of you poor people, in the name of God the Creator, and let him forever be your guide. And henceforth, do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/go-all-of-you-poor-people-in-the-name-of-god-the-creator-and-let-him/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) [Explore all 184 Francois Rabelais quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) ## More Circumspection quotes > [A beautiful woman, if poor, should use double circumspection; for her beauty will tempt others, her poverty herself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/a-beautiful-woman-if-poor-should-use-double-circumspection-for-her/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Descrimate between persons who are interacting with you in your personal life on regular basis, and treat them accordingly. A high level of circumspection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chandrababu-vs/descrimate-between-persons-who-are-interacting-with-you-in-your/) [Chandrababu VS](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chandrababu-vs/) > [“You're thinking about something, and it makes you forget to talk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/you-re-thinking-about-something-and-it-makes-you-forget-to-talk/) [Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/) > [“What was needed now was not bravery, but circumspection.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells-2/what-was-needed-now-was-not-bravery-but-circumspection/) [H.G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells-2/) > [Caution is the daughter of circumspection, but she tends to outgrow her mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-grillparzer/caution-is-the-daughter-of-circumspection-but-she-tends-to-outgrow/) [Franz Grillparzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-grillparzer/) > [By playing at Chess then, we may learn... First: Foresight. Second: Circumspection. Third: Caution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/by-playing-at-chess-then-we-may-learn-first-foresight-second/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Let us contemplate our forefathers, and posterity, and resolve to maintain the rights bequeathed to us from the former, for the sake of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/let-us-contemplate-our-forefathers-and-posterity-and-resolve-to/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [“Eloquence in public assemblies is not the surest road to fame and preferment, at least unless it be used with great caution, very rarely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/eloquence-in-public-assemblies-is-not-the-surest-road-to-fame-and/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [If we suffer tamely a lawless attack upon our liberty, we encourage it, and involve others in our doom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/if-we-suffer-tamely-a-lawless-attack-upon-our-liberty-we-encourage-it/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [Life is life. You do a lot of different things and you have great adventures but there's not a lot to talk about unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-plant/life-is-life-you-do-a-lot-of-different-things-and-you-have-great/) [Robert Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-plant/) > [When it shall please God to bring thee to man's estate, use great providence and circumspection in choosing thy wife. For from thence will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-sidney/when-it-shall-please-god-to-bring-thee-to-man-s-estate-use-great/) [Philip Sidney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-sidney/) > [In proportion to the value of this revolution; in proportion to the importance of instruments, every word of which decides a question between power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/in-proportion-to-the-value-of-this-revolution-in-proportion-to-the/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [It is not therefore the business of philosophy, in our present situation in the universe, to attempt to take in at once, in one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-maclaurin/it-is-not-therefore-the-business-of-philosophy-in-our-present/) Colin Maclaurin > [The necessity of the times, more than ever, calls for our utmost circumspection, deliberation, fortitude, and perseverance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/the-necessity-of-the-times-more-than-ever-calls-for-our-utmost/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [I appreciate my instincts, but my instincts can be dead wrong. Circumspection can give you time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-hunter/i-appreciate-my-instincts-but-my-instincts-can-be-dead-wrong/) [Holly Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-hunter/) Browse all 43 Circumspection quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Don't limp in front of the lame.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Francois Rabelais" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/don-t-limp-in-front-of-the-lame/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Circumspection" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/don-t-limp-in-front-of-the-lame/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/180/francois-rabelais-2038_circumspection_don-t-limp-in-front-of-the-lame-2883564_2883564.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/180/francois-rabelais-2038_circumspection_don-t-limp-in-front-of-the-lame-2883564_2883564.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/180/francois-rabelais-2038_circumspection_don-t-limp-in-front-of-the-lame-2883564_2883564.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Don't limp in front of the lame.” — Francois Rabelais", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Francois Rabelais", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Don't limp in front of the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/don-t-limp-in-front-of-the-lame/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/don-t-limp-in-front-of-the-lame/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```