--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As an old soldier, I admit the cowardice…" description: "\"As an old soldier, I admit the cowardice: it's as universal as seasickness, and matters just as little.\" — George Bernard Shaw" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74b/george-bernard-shaw-68_coward_as-an-old-soldier-i-admit-the-cowardice_676109.png" --- # As an old soldier, I admit the cowardice: it's as… ![“As an old soldier, I admit the cowardice: it's as universal as seasickness, and matters just as little.” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74b/george-bernard-shaw-68_coward_as-an-old-soldier-i-admit-the-cowardice_676109.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74b/george-bernard-shaw-68_coward_as-an-old-soldier-i-admit-the-cowardice_676109.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74b/george-bernard-shaw-68_coward_as-an-old-soldier-i-admit-the-cowardice_676109.png) > “As an old soldier, I admit the cowardice: it's as universal as seasickness, and matters just as little.” [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He admits that cowardice is common and trivial, like seasickness. **In simple terms:** Cowardice is universal and insignificant. Key Takeaway Recognize fear but act despite it. Themes courage human nature triviality Mood thoughtful philosophical Type literary reflective When to use this quote - battlefields - career decisions - personal dilemmas Key Concepts psychology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - Why do we label fear as cowardice? - Can trivializing fear reduce its power? A Different Perspective Fear can be paralyzing if not contextualized. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cowardice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cowardice/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Old soldiers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-soldiers/) [Soldier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soldier/) ## Related quotes > [“Most men would rather deny a hard truth than face it,’ the dwarf had told him smiling. 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Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [“If you have to fight old enemies, you should do it with your own old soldiers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-have-to-fight-old-enemies-you-should-do-it-with-your-own-old/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/the-soldier-above-all-other-people-prays-for-peace-for-he-must-suffer/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) > [“So Anna did not blame the women of her time for what they had created; it was different only in kind from what she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-bahr/so-anna-did-not-blame-the-women-of-her-time-for-what-they-had-created/) [Howard Bahr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-bahr/) > [War in the end is always about betrayal, betrayal of the young by the old, of soldiers by politicians, and of idealists by cynics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/war-in-the-end-is-always-about-betrayal-betrayal-of-the-young-by-the/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [Is not old wine wholesomest, old pippins toothsomest, old wood burn brightest, old linen wash whitest? 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Any man who is still communist at the age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/a-man-who-is-not-a-communist-at-the-age-of-twenty-is-a-fool-any-man/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [But to admire a strong person and to live under that strong person’s thumb are two different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/but-to-admire-a-strong-person-and-to-live-under-that-strong-person-s/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Socialism is the same as Communism, only better English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/socialism-is-the-same-as-communism-only-better-english/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The person who is ignorant enough to believe that his nourishment depends on meat is in a horrible dilemma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-person-who-is-ignorant-enough-to-believe-that-his-nourishment/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of peace Man is a bungler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-peace-man-is-a-bungler/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) [Explore all 1,640 George Bernard Shaw quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## More Coward quotes > [Only a coward will use a gun to protect and get respect for themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuel-jal/only-a-coward-will-use-a-gun-to-protect-and-get-respect-for-themselves/) [Emmanuel Jal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuel-jal/) > [“The Coward will run away from danger, only to strike in the dark. The Heroine will run through the dark, even though she knows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-a-cleinman/the-coward-will-run-away-from-danger-only-to-strike-in-the-dark-the/) David A. Cleinman > [“A thousand times a coward and not once a dead man”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suad-amiry/a-thousand-times-a-coward-and-not-once-a-dead-man/) Suad Amiry > [Boasting and bravado may exist in the breast even of the coward, if he is successful through a mere lucky hit; but a just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/boasting-and-bravado-may-exist-in-the-breast-even-of-the-coward-if-he/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [“It is true that only a coward can be brave, as a man who feels no fear has conquered nothing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conn-david-iggulden/it-is-true-that-only-a-coward-can-be-brave-as-a-man-who-feels-no-fear/) Conn & David Iggulden > [If you're a generous person, when you get money and fame, you're going to be more generous. If you're a sharer, you're going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-harvey/if-you-re-a-generous-person-when-you-get-money-and-fame-you-re-going/) [Steve Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-harvey/) > [Where is the coward that would not dare to fight for such a land as Scotland?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-scott/where-is-the-coward-that-would-not-dare-to-fight-for-such-a-land-as/) [Walter Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-scott/) > [“To stand at the very moment when all seems lost is the point of insanity for the coward, but it is the home of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/to-stand-at-the-very-moment-when-all-seems-lost-is-the-point-of/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [My advice to you, if you should ever be in a hold up, is to line up with the cowards and save your bravery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/my-advice-to-you-if-you-should-ever-be-in-a-hold-up-is-to-line-up/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [People who keep dogs are cowards who haven't got the guts to bite people themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/people-who-keep-dogs-are-cowards-who-haven-t-got-the-guts-to-bite/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) > [Is there cowardice with the acknowledgement of fear?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/is-there-cowardice-with-the-acknowledgement-of-fear/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [It is the disease of cowards, who do not have the courage to speak upfront and so talk behind one's back... Watch out against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/it-is-the-disease-of-cowards-who-do-not-have-the-courage-to-speak/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [If our principles are right, why should we be cowards?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretia-mott/if-our-principles-are-right-why-should-we-be-cowards/) [Lucretia Mott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretia-mott/) > [I found from working on the film that I am a bigot, at times. And that I am also a coward, at times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrence-howard/i-found-from-working-on-the-film-that-i-am-a-bigot-at-times-and-that/) [Terrence Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrence-howard/) > [A coward is the kindest animal; 'Tis the most forgiving creature in a fight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/a-coward-is-the-kindest-animal-tis-the-most-forgiving-creature-in-a/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) Browse all 1,331 Coward quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As an old soldier, I admit the cowardice: it's as universal as seasickness, and matters just as little.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Bernard Shaw" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/as-an-old-soldier-i-admit-the-cowardice-it-s-as-universal-as/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Coward" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/as-an-old-soldier-i-admit-the-cowardice-it-s-as-universal-as/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74b/george-bernard-shaw-68_coward_as-an-old-soldier-i-admit-the-cowardice_676109.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74b/george-bernard-shaw-68_coward_as-an-old-soldier-i-admit-the-cowardice_676109.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74b/george-bernard-shaw-68_coward_as-an-old-soldier-i-admit-the-cowardice_676109.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As an old soldier, I admit the cowardice: it's as universal as seasickness, and matters just as little.” — George Bernard Shaw", "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": "George Bernard Shaw", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "As an old soldier, I admit...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/as-an-old-soldier-i-admit-the-cowardice-it-s-as-universal-as/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/as-an-old-soldier-i-admit-the-cowardice-it-s-as-universal-as/#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 } } ] } ```