--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I had been censured every time I have…" description: "\"If I had been censured every time I have run my ship, or fleets under my command, into great danger, I should have long ago been out of the Service and..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e2/horatio-nelson-11575_command_if-i-had-been-censured-every-time-i-have_1214614.jpg" --- # If I had been censured every time I have run my ship, or… ![“If I had been censured every time I have run my ship, or fleets under my command, into great danger, I should have long ago been out of the Service and never in the House of Peers.” quote by Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e2/horatio-nelson-11575_command_if-i-had-been-censured-every-time-i-have_1214614.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e2/horatio-nelson-11575_command_if-i-had-been-censured-every-time-i-have_1214614.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e2/horatio-nelson-11575_command_if-i-had-been-censured-every-time-i-have_1214614.jpg) > “If I had been censured every time I have run my ship, or fleets under my command, into great danger, I should have long ago been out of the Service and never in the House of Peers.” [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A commander who repeatedly endangers his fleet would be dismissed from service and barred from the peerage. **In simple terms:** Repeated reckless leadership leads to removal. Key Takeaway Avoid repeated reckless actions. Themes leadership responsibility consequences military Mood cautionary serious Type historical military When to use this quote - naval command - political career - military ethics Key Concepts risk management command accountability Questions to Reflect On - Is any risk ever justified? - How to balance boldness with duty? A Different Perspective May overlook occasional necessary risks. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Danger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/danger/) [Long ago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-ago/) [Service](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/service/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [And what if I did run my ship aground; oh, still it was splendid to sail it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrik-ibsen/and-what-if-i-did-run-my-ship-aground-oh-still-it-was-splendid-to/) [Henrik Ibsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrik-ibsen/) > [When publicly censured our first instinct is to make everybody a codefendant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/when-publicly-censured-our-first-instinct-is-to-make-everybody-a/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Injustice is censured because the censures are afraid of suffering, and not from any fear which they have of doing injustice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/injustice-is-censured-because-the-censures-are-afraid-of-suffering/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“No man was to be eulogized for what he did; or censured for what he did or did not do. All of us are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/no-man-was-to-be-eulogized-for-what-he-did-or-censured-for-what-he/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“be performed by intelligent persons. The other type of actions censured by the world should be cast off far away (i.e. completely avoided). 47.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-dominic-de-lucia/be-performed-by-intelligent-persons-the-other-type-of-actions/) Dean Dominic De Lucia > [None of us are so much praised or censured as we think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/none-of-us-are-so-much-praised-or-censured-as-we-think/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [To suggest that the president should be censured because you don't agree with the legal advice he got seems to me to just --…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-schmidt/to-suggest-that-the-president-should-be-censured-because-you-don-t/) Jon Schmidt > [The world's deteriorating ecology poses as great a danger to mankind today as did the nuclear standoff between the superpowers at the height of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-gorbachev/the-world-s-deteriorating-ecology-poses-as-great-a-danger-to-mankind/) [Mikhail Gorbachev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-gorbachev/) > [“The great danger . . . lies precisely in his constant contact with divine things.” What is the danger? It is that familiarity with the things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-david-tripp/the-great-danger-lies-precisely-in-his-constant-contact-with-divine/) [Paul David Tripp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-david-tripp/) > [The great danger... in believing yourself especially chosen is that it becomes easy to view those who are not your people as God's especially…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/the-great-danger-in-believing-yourself-especially-chosen-is-that-it/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [“We are the great danger. Psyche is the great danger. How important is to know something about it, but we know nothing about it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-gustav-jung/we-are-the-great-danger-psyche-is-the-great-danger-how-important-is/) [Carl Gustav Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-gustav-jung/) > [But this is the great danger America faces. That we will cease to be one nation and become instead a collection of interest groups:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-jordan/but-this-is-the-great-danger-america-faces-that-we-will-cease-to-be/) [Barbara Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-jordan/) > [To expose our minds constantly to ungodly thinking is a great danger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-begg/to-expose-our-minds-constantly-to-ungodly-thinking-is-a-great-danger/) [Alistair Begg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-begg/) > [Gloucester, 'tis true that we are in great danger; The greater therefore should our courage be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/gloucester-tis-true-that-we-are-in-great-danger-the-greater-therefore/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [obedience is a great danger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-broner/obedience-is-a-great-danger/) [E. M. Broner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-broner/) ## More by Horatio Nelson > [England expects every man to do his duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/england-expects-every-man-to-do-his-duty/) [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) > [Duty is the great business of a sea officer; all private considerations must give way to it, however painful it may be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/duty-is-the-great-business-of-a-sea-officer-all-private/) [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) > [When I came to explain to them the 'Nelson Touch', it was like an electric shock. Some shed tears, all approved - 'It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/when-i-came-to-explain-to-them-the-nelson-touch-it-was-like-an/) [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) > [Buonaparte has often made his boast that our fleet would be worn out by keeping the sea and that his was kept in order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/buonaparte-has-often-made-his-boast-that-our-fleet-would-be-worn-out/) [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) > [Had we taken ten sails, and let the eleventh to escape, being able to get at her, I could never have called it well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/had-we-taken-ten-sails-and-let-the-eleventh-to-escape-being-able-to/) [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) > [Something must be left to chance; nothing is certain in a sea fight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/something-must-be-left-to-chance-nothing-is-certain-in-a-sea-fight/) [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) > [The politics of courts are so mean that private people would be ashamed to act in the same way; all is trick and finesse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/the-politics-of-courts-are-so-mean-that-private-people-would-be/) [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) > [Frigates are the eyes of a fleet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/frigates-are-the-eyes-of-a-fleet/) [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) > [I am ill every time it blows hard, and nothing but my enthusiastic love for the profession keeps me one hour at sea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/i-am-ill-every-time-it-blows-hard-and-nothing-but-my-enthusiastic/) [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) > [If a man consults whether he is to fight, when he has the power in his own hands, it is certain that his opinion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/if-a-man-consults-whether-he-is-to-fight-when-he-has-the-power-in-his/) [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) > [Laurels grow in the Bay of Biscay, I hope a bed of them may be found in the Mediterranean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/laurels-grow-in-the-bay-of-biscay-i-hope-a-bed-of-them-may-be-found/) [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) > [When I follow my own head, I am, in general, much more correct in my judgment than following the opinion of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/when-i-follow-my-own-head-i-am-in-general-much-more-correct-in-my/) [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) > [A ship's a fool to fight a fort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/a-ship-s-a-fool-to-fight-a-fort/) [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) > [Whoever gains the palm by merit, let him hold it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/whoever-gains-the-palm-by-merit-let-him-hold-it/) [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) > [The bravest man feels an anxiety 'circa praecordia' as he enters the battle; but he dreads disgrace yet more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/the-bravest-man-feels-an-anxiety-circa-praecordia-as-he-enters-the/) [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) [Explore all 59 Horatio Nelson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) ## More Command quotes > [Why couldn't Jesus command us to obsess over everything, to try to control and manipulate people, to try not to breathe at all, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/why-couldn-t-jesus-command-us-to-obsess-over-everything-to-try-to/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Geometry, which should only obey Physics, when united with it sometimes commands it. If it happens that the question which we wish to examine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/geometry-which-should-only-obey-physics-when-united-with-it-sometimes/) [Jean le Rond d'Alembert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/) > [I started with the belief that every person who came to the laboratory was free to accept or to reject the dictates of authority.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-milgram/i-started-with-the-belief-that-every-person-who-came-to-the/) [Stanley Milgram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-milgram/) > [Daily contact with some teachers is itself all-sided ethical education for the child without a spoken precept. Here, too, the real advantage of male…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/daily-contact-with-some-teachers-is-itself-all-sided-ethical/) [G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/) > [Our beliefs are like the unquestioned commands, telling us how things are, what's possible and what's impossible, what we can and can not do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/our-beliefs-are-like-the-unquestioned-commands-telling-us-how-things/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [Why has no religion this command before all others: Thou shalt work?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berthold-auerbach/why-has-no-religion-this-command-before-all-others-thou-shalt-work/) [Berthold Auerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berthold-auerbach/) > [I ask one thing only: I ask for the right to hope, to suffer as I do. But if even that cannot be, command…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-ask-one-thing-only-i-ask-for-the-right-to-hope-to-suffer-as-i-do/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [When you're in command, command.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-w-nimitz/when-you-re-in-command-command/) [Chester W. Nimitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-w-nimitz/) > [No one holds command over me. No man. No god. No Prince. What is a claim of age for ones who are immortal? What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/no-one-holds-command-over-me-no-man-no-god-no-prince-what-is-a-claim/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [Oh while I live, to be the ruler of life, not a slave, to meet life as a powerful conqueror, and nothing exterior to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/oh-while-i-live-to-be-the-ruler-of-life-not-a-slave-to-meet-life-as-a/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [There is a particular danger with a war that God commands. What if God should lose?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/there-is-a-particular-danger-with-a-war-that-god-commands-what-if-god/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [Once you have hierarchy you need rules to protect and administer it, and then you need law and the enforcement of the rules, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-p-young/once-you-have-hierarchy-you-need-rules-to-protect-and-administer-it/) [William P. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-p-young/) > [The architect is very interesting because the architect is the commander, meaning the one who commands all the workers. The architect is also the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-calatrava/the-architect-is-very-interesting-because-the-architect-is-the/) [Santiago Calatrava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-calatrava/) > [You've got Washington picking winners and losers. And so, all of a sudden, decisions are being made on what helps politicians, not what helps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeb-hensarling/you-ve-got-washington-picking-winners-and-losers-and-so-all-of-a/) [Jeb Hensarling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeb-hensarling/) > [While it is becoming increasingly obvious that the fundamental architecture of a system has a profound Influence on the quality of its human factors,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-m-branscomb/while-it-is-becoming-increasingly-obvious-that-the-fundamental/) [Lewis M. Branscomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-m-branscomb/) Browse all 1,694 Command quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If I had been censured every time I have run my ship, or fleets under my command, into great danger, I should have long ago been out of the Service and never in the House of Peers.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Horatio Nelson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/if-i-had-been-censured-every-time-i-have-run-my-ship-or-fleets-under/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Command" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/if-i-had-been-censured-every-time-i-have-run-my-ship-or-fleets-under/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e2/horatio-nelson-11575_command_if-i-had-been-censured-every-time-i-have_1214614.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e2/horatio-nelson-11575_command_if-i-had-been-censured-every-time-i-have_1214614.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e2/horatio-nelson-11575_command_if-i-had-been-censured-every-time-i-have_1214614.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If I had been censured every time I have run my ship, or fleets under my command, into great danger, I…” — Horatio Nelson", "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": "Horatio Nelson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If I had been censured every...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/if-i-had-been-censured-every-time-i-have-run-my-ship-or-fleets-under/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/if-i-had-been-censured-every-time-i-have-run-my-ship-or-fleets-under/#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 } } ] } ```