--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Fear is not a sin in the taiga, but…" description: "\"Fear is not a sin in the taiga, but cowardice is [..].\" — John Vaillant" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/071/john-vaillant-23086_cowardice_fear-is-not-a-sin-in-the-taiga-but-cowar_277077.jpg" --- # Fear is not a sin in the taiga, but cowardice is \[..\]. ![“Fear is not a sin in the taiga, but cowardice is [..].” quote by John Vaillant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/071/john-vaillant-23086_cowardice_fear-is-not-a-sin-in-the-taiga-but-cowar_277077.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/071/john-vaillant-23086_cowardice_fear-is-not-a-sin-in-the-taiga-but-cowar_277077.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/071/john-vaillant-23086_cowardice_fear-is-not-a-sin-in-the-taiga-but-cowar_277077.jpg) > “Fear is not a sin in the taiga, but cowardice is \[..\].” [John Vaillant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vaillant/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. In harsh environments, fear is natural, but cowardice—failing to act despite fear—is a moral failing. **In simple terms:** Fear is okay, cowardice is not Key Takeaway Act despite fear Themes survival courage ethics Mood reflective inspirational Type ethical motivational When to use this quote - Expeditions - military missions - emergency response - personal challenges Key Concepts Fear response moral choice risk assessment Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate fear from cowardice? - When is caution mistaken for cowardice? A Different Perspective Fear can be paralyzing if not managed ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cowardice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cowardice/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Sin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sin/) ## Related quotes > [Lust is a pleasure bought with pains, a delight hatched with disquiet, a content passed with fear, and a sin finished with sorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demonax/lust-is-a-pleasure-bought-with-pains-a-delight-hatched-with-disquiet/) Demonax > [Fear is death, fear is sin, fear is hell, fear is unrighteousness, and fear is wrong life. All the negative thoughts and ideas that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/fear-is-death-fear-is-sin-fear-is-hell-fear-is-unrighteousness-and/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [If humanity didn't put so much energy in Guilt,Fear Sin and Doubt. They would discover what life is truly about!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-victor-paskavich/if-humanity-didn-t-put-so-much-energy-in-guilt-fear-sin-and-doubt/) [Stanley Victor Paskavich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-victor-paskavich/) > [The devil is no fool. He can get people feeling about heaven the way they ought to feel about hell. He can make them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-devil-is-no-fool-he-can-get-people-feeling-about-heaven-the-way/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not whether they be clergymen or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wesley/give-me-one-hundred-preachers-who-fear-nothing-but-sin-and-desire/) [John Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wesley/) > [I love Religion it's the cheapest place to buy Guilt, Fear,Sin and Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-victor-paskavich/i-love-religion-it-s-the-cheapest-place-to-buy-guilt-fear-sin-and/) [Stanley Victor Paskavich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-victor-paskavich/) > [If not for fear, sin would be sweet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jewish-proverb/if-not-for-fear-sin-would-be-sweet/) Jewish Proverb > [“Wherever the idea of guilt, the fear of sin prevails, the mind becomes traitor to the body: "I know him not and will have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/various/wherever-the-idea-of-guilt-the-fear-of-sin-prevails-the-mind-becomes/) Various > [Let no man pretend to fear sin that does not fear temptation also! 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We must therefore fear sin, not death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonsus-liguori/what-is-it-that-renders-death-terrible-sin-we-must-therefore-fear-sin/) [Alphonsus Liguori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonsus-liguori/) > [Fear is not always a sin but it always is an opportunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-driscoll/fear-is-not-always-a-sin-but-it-always-is-an-opportunity/) [Mark Driscoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-driscoll/) > [“Give me 100 preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God; such alone will shake the gates of hell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wesley/give-me-100-preachers-who-fear-nothing-but-sin-and-desire-nothing-but/) [John Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wesley/) > [Fear shields one's real feelings & give false reasons. Thinking becomes the hardest, you don't know if to choose solitude or settle for love.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fear-shields-one-s-real-feelings-give-false-reasons-thinking-becomes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“John Wesley once said: “Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God…such alone will shake the gates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-j-foster/john-wesley-once-said-give-me-one-hundred-preachers-who-fear-nothing/) [Richard J. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-j-foster/) > [“Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin, and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wesley/give-me-one-hundred-preachers-who-fear-nothing-but-sin-and-desire-2/) [John Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wesley/) ## More by John Vaillant > [“He realised that in a town a man cannot live as he wishes, but as other people wish.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vaillant/he-realised-that-in-a-town-a-man-cannot-live-as-he-wishes-but-as/) [John Vaillant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vaillant/) > [“I’ve read a tiger’s not dangerous, They say the tiger won’t attack But one thing’s not clear to me. Has he read this, too?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vaillant/i-ve-read-a-tiger-s-not-dangerous-they-say-the-tiger-won-t-attack-but/) [John Vaillant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vaillant/) > [The one certainty in tiger tracks is: follow them long enough and you will eventually arrive at a tiger, unless the tiger arrives at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vaillant/the-one-certainty-in-tiger-tracks-is-follow-them-long-enough-and-you/) [John Vaillant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vaillant/) > [“Tigers go by several different names here, and one of them is Toyota-because, during the 1990's, that is what you could buy with one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vaillant/tigers-go-by-several-different-names-here-and-one-of-them-is-toyota/) [John Vaillant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vaillant/) > [“To say a tiger is an "outside" animal is an understatement that is best appreciated when a tiger is inside.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vaillant/to-say-a-tiger-is-an-outside-animal-is-an-understatement-that-is-best/) [John Vaillant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vaillant/) > [Successful hunting, it could be said, is an act of terminal empathy: the kill depends on how successfully a hunter inserts himself into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vaillant/successful-hunting-it-could-be-said-is-an-act-of-terminal-empathy-the/) [John Vaillant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vaillant/) > [Fancy cutting down all those beautiful trees...to make pulp for those bloody newspapers, and calling it civilisation. - Winston Churchill, remarking to his son…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vaillant/fancy-cutting-down-all-those-beautiful-trees-to-make-pulp-for-those/) [John Vaillant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vaillant/) > [“It is an eccentric and uniquely human approach to resources: like plowing under your farmland to make way for more lawns, or compromising your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vaillant/it-is-an-eccentric-and-uniquely-human-approach-to-resources-like/) [John Vaillant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vaillant/) > [“Their houses are the size of small airplane hangars; their carved”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vaillant/their-houses-are-the-size-of-small-airplane-hangars-their-carved/) [John Vaillant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vaillant/) > [A human being is a very social creature, and ninety percent of what he does is done only because other people are watching. Alone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vaillant/a-human-being-is-a-very-social-creature-and-ninety-percent-of-what-he/) [John Vaillant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vaillant/) > [“This is the magical realism of NAFTA - Mexico, the birthplace of corn, is now importing surplus corn from el Norte - millions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vaillant/this-is-the-magical-realism-of-nafta-mexico-the-birthplace-of-corn-is/) [John Vaillant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vaillant/) > [The tiger will see you a hundred times before you see him once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vaillant/the-tiger-will-see-you-a-hundred-times-before-you-see-him-once/) [John Vaillant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vaillant/) > [“Like Trush, Sheriff Gorunov is a born Alpha, a handsome, fire-breathing dragon of a man who smokes with an alarming vigor: cigarette clamped between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vaillant/like-trush-sheriff-gorunov-is-a-born-alpha-a-handsome-fire-breathing/) [John Vaillant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vaillant/) > [“In the 1970s, after the Damansky Island clashes, a joke began circulating: 'Optimists study English; pessimists study Chinese; and realists learn to use a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vaillant/in-the-1970s-after-the-damansky-island-clashes-a-joke-began/) [John Vaillant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vaillant/) > [“... humans are simply zombie hosts obediently disseminating their seeds, tubers, sparks, and gasses around the globe. In the end, the geologic record will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vaillant/humans-are-simply-zombie-hosts-obediently-disseminating-their-seeds/) [John Vaillant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vaillant/) [Explore all 26 John Vaillant quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vaillant/) ## 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": "Fear is not a sin in the taiga, but cowardice is [..].", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Vaillant" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vaillant/fear-is-not-a-sin-in-the-taiga-but-cowardice-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cowardice" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vaillant/fear-is-not-a-sin-in-the-taiga-but-cowardice-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/071/john-vaillant-23086_cowardice_fear-is-not-a-sin-in-the-taiga-but-cowar_277077.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/071/john-vaillant-23086_cowardice_fear-is-not-a-sin-in-the-taiga-but-cowar_277077.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/071/john-vaillant-23086_cowardice_fear-is-not-a-sin-in-the-taiga-but-cowar_277077.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Fear is not a sin in the taiga, but cowardice is [..].” — John Vaillant", "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": "John Vaillant", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vaillant/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Fear is not a sin in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vaillant/fear-is-not-a-sin-in-the-taiga-but-cowardice-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vaillant/fear-is-not-a-sin-in-the-taiga-but-cowardice-is/#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 } } ] } ```