--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To see what is right and not to do it is…" description: "\"To see what is right and not to do it is cowardice. It is never a question of who is right but what is right.\" — John Buchan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f16/john-buchan-7539_cowardice_to-see-what-is-right-and-not-to-do-it-is_869401.jpg" --- # To see what is right and not to do it is cowardice. It is… ![“To see what is right and not to do it is cowardice. It is never a question of who is right but what is right.” quote by John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f16/john-buchan-7539_cowardice_to-see-what-is-right-and-not-to-do-it-is_869401.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f16/john-buchan-7539_cowardice_to-see-what-is-right-and-not-to-do-it-is_869401.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f16/john-buchan-7539_cowardice_to-see-what-is-right-and-not-to-do-it-is_869401.jpg) > “To see what is right and not to do it is cowardice. It is never a question of who is right but what is right.” [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Choosing not to act on what is right is cowardice; moral action matters more than being correct. **In simple terms:** Doing right is brave; ignoring it is cowardice. Key Takeaway Act on moral convictions, not just knowledge. Themes morality courage principles action integrity Mood serious thoughtful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - workplace dilemmas - social activism - personal choices Key Concepts ethical decision‑making personal responsibility civic duty Questions to Reflect On - What right action are you avoiding? - How can you turn belief into deed? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on being right can stall action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cowardice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cowardice/) ## Related quotes > [“You can't throw kindling on a fire and deny you kept it burning. 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"Knock him out-- truss him up-- whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/how-will-you-deal-with-him-belses-asked-jock-lifted-a-brawny-fist-and/) [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) > [The true definition of a snob is one who craves for what separates men rather than for what unites them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/the-true-definition-of-a-snob-is-one-who-craves-for-what-separates/) [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) > [You see only the productions of second-rate folk who are in a hurry to get wealth and fame. The true knowledge, the deadly knowledge,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/you-see-only-the-productions-of-second-rate-folk-who-are-in-a-hurry/) [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) > [I always try to suit my clothes to my company. It is the only way to be inconspicuous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/i-always-try-to-suit-my-clothes-to-my-company-it-is-the-only-way-to/) [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) > [“But let none, he added, pray to have the full music; for it will make him who hears it a footsore traveller in”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/but-let-none-he-added-pray-to-have-the-full-music-for-it-will-make/) [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) > [“though I was afraid of many things, the thing I feared most mortally was being afraid. I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/though-i-was-afraid-of-many-things-the-thing-i-feared-most-mortally/) [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) > [ \[W\]ithout humour you cannot run a sweetie-shop, let alone a nation. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/w-ithout-humour-you-cannot-run-a-sweetie-shop-let-alone-a-nation/) [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) > [I was a peaceful sedentary man, a lover of a quiet life, with no appetite for perils and commotions. 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You want a bigger heart to face danger which you go out to look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/most-people-are-a-little-scared-at-new-things-you-want-a-bigger-heart/) [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) [Explore all 90 John Buchan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) ## More Cowardice quotes > [“What is cowardice in the young is wisdom in the old, but all the same one can be ashamed of wisdom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/what-is-cowardice-in-the-young-is-wisdom-in-the-old-but-all-the-same/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [The unpreparedness of the educated classes, the lack of practical links between them and the mass of the people, their laziness, and, let it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/the-unpreparedness-of-the-educated-classes-the-lack-of-practical/) [Frantz Fanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/) > [ \[D\]on't grow old. With age comes caution, which is another name for cowardice… Whatever else you do in life, don't cultivate a conscience. Without… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesketh-pearson/d-on-t-grow-old-with-age-comes-caution-which-is-another-name-for/) [Hesketh Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesketh-pearson/) > [Heckling is an act of cowardice. If you want to speak, get up in front of the microphone and speak, don't sit in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-connolly/heckling-is-an-act-of-cowardice-if-you-want-to-speak-get-up-in-front/) [Billy Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-connolly/) > [“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/) > [The biggest obstacles to our progress exist within our own lives in the form of cowardice and the tendency to give up. Breaking through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senora-roy/the-biggest-obstacles-to-our-progress-exist-within-our-own-lives-in/) [Senora Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senora-roy/) > [“I once knew a man who was heir to the throne of a great kingdom, he lived as a ranger and fought his destiny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-joybell-c/i-once-knew-a-man-who-was-heir-to-the-throne-of-a-great-kingdom-he/) [C. JoyBell C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-joybell-c/) > [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/) > [Man alone mesures time. And because of this, man alone suffers a paralyzing fear that no other creature endures. A fear of time running…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/man-alone-mesures-time-and-because-of-this-man-alone-suffers-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [With how many things are we on the brink of becoming acquainted, if cowardice or carelessness did not restrain our inquiries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/with-how-many-things-are-we-on-the-brink-of-becoming-acquainted-if/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“They are not brave, the days when we are twenty-one. They are full of little cowardices, little fears without foundation, and one is so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/they-are-not-brave-the-days-when-we-are-twenty-one-they-are-full-of/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [Survival, with honor, that outmoded and all-important word, is as difficult as ever and as all-important to a writer. Those who do not last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/survival-with-honor-that-outmoded-and-all-important-word-is-as/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“People run away from the love game because they know they won't win the race.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/people-run-away-from-the-love-game-because-they-know-they-won-t-win/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [A man may be accused of cowardice for fleeing away from all manner of physical dangers but when things supernatural, insubstantial and inexplicable threaten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-hill/a-man-may-be-accused-of-cowardice-for-fleeing-away-from-all-manner-of/) [Susan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-hill/) > [“Preparation eradicates cowardice, which we define as the failure to act in the midst of fear…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/four-from-divergent/preparation-eradicates-cowardice-which-we-define-as-the-failure-to/) Four from Divergent [Browse all 900 Cowardice quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cowardice/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To see what is right and not to do it is cowardice. 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