--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Cowardice rightly understood begins with…" description: "\"Cowardice rightly understood begins with selfishness and ends with shame.\" — Jose Rizal" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85d/jos-rizal-2452_cowardice_cowardice-rightly-understood-begins-with_1180472.png" --- # Cowardice rightly understood begins with selfishness and… ![“Cowardice rightly understood begins with selfishness and ends with shame.” quote by Jose Rizal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85d/jos-rizal-2452_cowardice_cowardice-rightly-understood-begins-with_1180472.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85d/jos-rizal-2452_cowardice_cowardice-rightly-understood-begins-with_1180472.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85d/jos-rizal-2452_cowardice_cowardice-rightly-understood-begins-with_1180472.png) > “Cowardice rightly understood begins with selfishness and ends with shame.” [Jose Rizal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-rizal/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Cowardice is rooted in selfishness and ends in shame when one avoids responsibility. **In simple terms:** Selfishness leads to shame. Key Takeaway Recognize selfish motives to act bravely. Themes courage selfishness shame Mood reflective serious Type ethical motivational When to use this quote - leadership decisions - personal conflicts - public speaking - team dynamics Key Concepts ethical responsibility personal growth Questions to Reflect On - How does selfishness become shame? - When does courage outweigh fear? A Different Perspective Selfishness can be a protective instinct, not always shameful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Begins Selfishness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/begins-selfishness-3460822/) [Cowardice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cowardice/) [Cowardice Rightly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cowardice-rightly-3460821/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Selfishness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfishness/) [Selfishness Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfishness-ends-3460823/) [Shame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shame/) [Understood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understood/) ## Related quotes > [Happiness begins where selfishness ends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wooden/happiness-begins-where-selfishness-ends/) [John Wooden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wooden/) > [Happiness begins when selfishness ends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wooden/happiness-begins-when-selfishness-ends/) [John Wooden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wooden/) > [The tyranny of some is possible only through the cowardice of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-rizal/the-tyranny-of-some-is-possible-only-through-the-cowardice-of-others/) [Jose Rizal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-rizal/) > [True patriots believe that freedom from responsibility is selfishness, freedom from sacrifice is cowardice, freedom from tolerance is prejudice, freedom from stewardship is exploitation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/true-patriots-believe-that-freedom-from-responsibility-is-selfishness/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [People pontificate, "Suicide is selfishness." Career churchmen like Pater go a step further and call in a cowardly assault on the living. Oafs argue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/people-pontificate-suicide-is-selfishness-career-churchmen-like-pater/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [I have observed that the prosperity or misery of each people is in direct proportion to its liberties or its prejudices and, accordingly, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-rizal/i-have-observed-that-the-prosperity-or-misery-of-each-people-is-in/) [Jose Rizal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-rizal/) > [People do not cooperate under the division of labor because they love or should love one another. They cooperate because this best serves their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/people-do-not-cooperate-under-the-division-of-labor-because-they-love-2/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [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/) > [“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/) > [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/) > [“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/) > [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/) > [ \[D\]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/) > [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/) > [“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/) ## More by Jose Rizal > [“What said those two souls communicating through the language of the eyes, more perfect than that of the lips, the language given to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-rizal/what-said-those-two-souls-communicating-through-the-language-of-the/) [José Rizal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-rizal/) > [“What was exchanged in the language of their eyes, more perfect than their lips, the language afforded the soul so that no sound disturbs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-rizal/what-was-exchanged-in-the-language-of-their-eyes-more-perfect-than/) [José Rizal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-rizal/) > [The Filipino embraces civilization and lives and thrives in every clime, in contact with every people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-rizal/the-filipino-embraces-civilization-and-lives-and-thrives-in-every/) [Jose Rizal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-rizal/) > [He who does not know how to look back at where he came from will never get to his destination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-rizal/he-who-does-not-know-how-to-look-back-at-where-he-came-from-will/) [Jose Rizal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-rizal/) > [He who does not love his own language is worse than an animal and smelly fish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-rizal/he-who-does-not-love-his-own-language-is-worse-than-an-animal-and/) [Jose Rizal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-rizal/) > [“Walang mang-aalipin kung walang paaalipin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-rizal/walang-mang-aalipin-kung-walang-paaalipin/) [José Rizal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-rizal/) > [“He would have admired one of those fantastic visions, those magic apparitions one sometimes sees in the great theaters of Europe, in which the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-rizal/he-would-have-admired-one-of-those-fantastic-visions-those-magic/) [José Rizal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-rizal/) > [“The glory of saving a country doesn't mean having to use the measures that contributed to its ruin!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-rizal/the-glory-of-saving-a-country-doesn-t-mean-having-to-use-the-measures/) [José Rizal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-rizal/) > [Your enemies hate you more than they hate your ideas. Should you want a project to be undone propose it. Even if it were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-rizal/your-enemies-hate-you-more-than-they-hate-your-ideas-should-you-want/) [Jose Rizal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-rizal/) > [“When a people holds onto its language, it holds onto a semblance of freedom, like a man who holds onto his independence when he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-rizal/when-a-people-holds-onto-its-language-it-holds-onto-a-semblance-of/) [José Rizal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-rizal/) > [“Countrymen: I have given proofs, as well as the best of you, of desiring liberty for our country, and I continue to desire it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-rizal/countrymen-i-have-given-proofs-as-well-as-the-best-of-you-of-desiring/) [José Rizal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-rizal/) > [“In the Philippines you are not considered to be honorable unless you have been to jail.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-rizal/in-the-philippines-you-are-not-considered-to-be-honorable-unless-you/) [José Rizal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-rizal/) > [There now exists a factor which was formerly lacking - the spirit of the nation has been aroused, and a common misfortune, a common…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-rizal/there-now-exists-a-factor-which-was-formerly-lacking-the-spirit-of/) [Jose Rizal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-rizal/) > [I can concede that the government has no knowledge of the people, but I believe the people know less of the government. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-rizal/i-can-concede-that-the-government-has-no-knowledge-of-the-people-but/) [Jose Rizal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-rizal/) > [It is a useless life that is not consecrated to a great ideal. It is like a stone wasted on the field without becoming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-rizal/it-is-a-useless-life-that-is-not-consecrated-to-a-great-ideal-it-is/) [Jose Rizal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-rizal/) [Explore all 144 Jose Rizal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-rizal/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/four-from-divergent/) [Browse all 900 Cowardice quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cowardice/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Cowardice rightly understood begins with selfishness and ends with shame.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jose Rizal" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-rizal/cowardice-rightly-understood-begins-with-selfishness-and-ends-with/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cowardice" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-rizal/cowardice-rightly-understood-begins-with-selfishness-and-ends-with/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85d/jos-rizal-2452_cowardice_cowardice-rightly-understood-begins-with_1180472.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85d/jos-rizal-2452_cowardice_cowardice-rightly-understood-begins-with_1180472.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85d/jos-rizal-2452_cowardice_cowardice-rightly-understood-begins-with_1180472.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Cowardice rightly understood begins with selfishness and ends with shame.” — Jose Rizal", "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": "Jose Rizal", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-rizal/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Cowardice rightly understood begins with selfishness...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-rizal/cowardice-rightly-understood-begins-with-selfishness-and-ends-with/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-rizal/cowardice-rightly-understood-begins-with-selfishness-and-ends-with/#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 } } ] } ```