--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Man gives every reason for his conduct…" description: "\"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 cowardic..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/933/george-bernard-shaw-68_coward_man-gives-every-reason-for-his-conduct-s_2975397.png" --- # Man gives every reason for his conduct save one, every… ![“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” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/933/george-bernard-shaw-68_coward_man-gives-every-reason-for-his-conduct-s_2975397.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/933/george-bernard-shaw-68_coward_man-gives-every-reason-for-his-conduct-s_2975397.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/933/george-bernard-shaw-68_coward_man-gives-every-reason-for-his-conduct-s_2975397.png) > “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](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. People often rationalize behavior, but the true motive is often hidden cowardice. **In simple terms:** Excuses hide fear. Key Takeaway Recognize hidden cowardice. Themes psychology motivation human nature Mood reflective critical Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - personal relationships - conflict resolution - leadership decisions Key Concepts self‑deception defense mechanisms Questions to Reflect On - What excuses are you making for your actions? - How can you confront underlying fear? A Different Perspective Cowardice may be masked by complex rationalizations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cowardice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cowardice/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Safety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/safety/) ## Related quotes > [The age-old and noble thought of 'I will lay down my life to save another,' is nothing more than cowardice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-age-old-and-noble-thought-of-i-will-lay-down-my-life-to-save/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [I wonder that no criminal has ever pleaded the ugliness of your city as an excuse for his crimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-wonder-that-no-criminal-has-ever-pleaded-the-ugliness-of-your-city/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [What is really important in Man is the part of him that we do not understand. Of much of it we are not even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/what-is-really-important-in-man-is-the-part-of-him-that-we-do-not/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [No community has ever yet passed beyond the initial phases in which its pugnacity and fanaticism enabled it to found a nation, and its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/no-community-has-ever-yet-passed-beyond-the-initial-phases-in-which/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The early Christian rules of life were not made to last, because the early Christians did not believe that the world itself was going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-early-christian-rules-of-life-were-not-made-to-last-because-the/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The great danger of conversion in all ages has been that when the religion of the high mind is offered to the lower mind,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-great-danger-of-conversion-in-all-ages-has-been-that-when-the/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [I'm not a teacher: only a fellow traveler of whom you asked the way. I pointed ahead - ahead of myself as well as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-m-not-a-teacher-only-a-fellow-traveler-of-whom-you-asked-the-way-i/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In an ugly and unhappy world the richest man can purchase nothing but ugliness and unhappiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-an-ugly-and-unhappy-world-the-richest-man-can-purchase-nothing-but/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Assasination on the scaffold is the worst form of assasination, because there it is invested with the approval of society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/assasination-on-the-scaffold-is-the-worst-form-of-assasination/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Man is the only animal which esteems itself rich in proportion to the number and voracity of its parasites.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/man-is-the-only-animal-which-esteems-itself-rich-in-proportion-to-the/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [No man can be a pure specialist without being in the strict sense an idiot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/no-man-can-be-a-pure-specialist-without-being-in-the-strict-sense-an/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [We sing in a church, why can we not dance there?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/we-sing-in-a-church-why-can-we-not-dance-there/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [How can what an Englishman believes be hearsay? It is a contradiction in terms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/how-can-what-an-englishman-believes-be-hearsay-it-is-a-contradiction/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [If the wicked flourish and the fittest survive, Nature must be the god of rascals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/if-the-wicked-flourish-and-the-fittest-survive-nature-must-be-the-god/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Englishmen hate Liberty and Equality too much to understand them. But every Englishman loves a pedigree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/englishmen-hate-liberty-and-equality-too-much-to-understand-them-but/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## More by George Bernard Shaw > [I love little children too but I don't cut off their heads and stick them in vases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-love-little-children-too-but-i-don-t-cut-off-their-heads-and-stick/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Blasphemy and sedition (meaning the truth about Church and State).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/blasphemy-and-sedition-meaning-the-truth-about-church-and-state/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of life, man invents nothing; but in the arts of death he outdoes Nature herself, and produces by chemistry and machinery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-life-man-invents-nothing-but-in-the-arts-of-death-he/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“My religious convictions and scientific views cannot at present be more specifically defined than as those of a believer in creative evolution. I desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/my-religious-convictions-and-scientific-views-cannot-at-present-be/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [What a man believes may be ascertained, not from his creed, but from the assumptions on which he habitually acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/what-a-man-believes-may-be-ascertained-not-from-his-creed-but-from/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [You are my inspiration and my folly. You are my light across the sea, my million nameless joys, and my day's wage. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-are-my-inspiration-and-my-folly-you-are-my-light-across-the-sea/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Men have to do some awfully mean things to keep up their respectability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/men-have-to-do-some-awfully-mean-things-to-keep-up-their/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The schoolmaster is the person who takes the children off the parents' hands for a consideration. That is to say, he establishes a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-schoolmaster-is-the-person-who-takes-the-children-off-the-parents/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [As long as I have a want, I have a reason for living. Satisfaction is death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/as-long-as-i-have-a-want-i-have-a-reason-for-living-satisfaction-is/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The camera can represent flesh so superbly that, if I dared, I would never photograph a figure without asking that figure to take its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-camera-can-represent-flesh-so-superbly-that-if-i-dared-i-would/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [A man who is not a communist at the age of twenty is a fool. 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": "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", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Bernard Shaw" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/man-gives-every-reason-for-his-conduct-save-one-every-excuse-for-his/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Coward" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/man-gives-every-reason-for-his-conduct-save-one-every-excuse-for-his/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/933/george-bernard-shaw-68_coward_man-gives-every-reason-for-his-conduct-s_2975397.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/933/george-bernard-shaw-68_coward_man-gives-every-reason-for-his-conduct-s_2975397.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/933/george-bernard-shaw-68_coward_man-gives-every-reason-for-his-conduct-s_2975397.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Man gives every reason for his conduct save one, every excuse for his crimes save one, every plea for his…” — 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": "Man gives every reason for his...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/man-gives-every-reason-for-his-conduct-save-one-every-excuse-for-his/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/man-gives-every-reason-for-his-conduct-save-one-every-excuse-for-his/#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 } } ] } ```