--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Cowards can never be moral." description: "\"Cowards can never be moral.\" — Mahatma Gandhi" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/870/mahatma-gandhi-23_character_cowards-can-never-be-moral-1905718_1905718.jpg" --- # Cowards can never be moral. ![“Cowards can never be moral.” quote by Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/870/mahatma-gandhi-23_character_cowards-can-never-be-moral-1905718_1905718.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/870/mahatma-gandhi-23_character_cowards-can-never-be-moral-1905718_1905718.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/870/mahatma-gandhi-23_character_cowards-can-never-be-moral-1905718_1905718.jpg) > “Cowards can never be moral.” [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Moral courage is essential; cowardice cannot coexist with true morality. **In simple terms:** Cowards lack moral integrity. Key Takeaway Cultivate moral courage. Themes morality courage integrity Mood serious inspirational Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - leadership - activism - personal growth Key Concepts ethics philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How does fear affect moral decisions? - Can one be moral without courage? A Different Perspective Courage may be suppressed by fear or oppression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Cowards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cowards/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Morality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morality/) ## Related quotes > [Fearlessness is the first requisite of spirituality. Cowards can never be moral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/fearlessness-is-the-first-requisite-of-spirituality-cowards-can-never/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Someone said that patriotism is the last refuge of cowards; those without moral principles usually wrap a flag around themselves, and those bastards always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/someone-said-that-patriotism-is-the-last-refuge-of-cowards-those/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [There can be no friendship between cowards, or cowards and brave men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/there-can-be-no-friendship-between-cowards-or-cowards-and-brave-men/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Swaraj is not meant for cowards, but for those who would mount smilingly to the gallows and refuse even to allow their eyes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/swaraj-is-not-meant-for-cowards-but-for-those-who-would-mount/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Bullies are always to be found where there are cowards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/bullies-are-always-to-be-found-where-there-are-cowards/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [No police or military in the world can protect people who are cowards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-police-or-military-in-the-world-can-protect-people-who-are-cowards/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [God will not have his work made manifest by cowards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/god-will-not-have-his-work-made-manifest-by-cowards/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [How comes it to pass, then, that we appear such cowards in reasoning, and are so afraid to stand the test of ridicule? -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-ashley-cooper-1st-earl-of-shaftesbury/how-comes-it-to-pass-then-that-we-appear-such-cowards-in-reasoning/) Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury > [Haters are cowards. When confronted they often back down. We must resist haters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-reno/haters-are-cowards-when-confronted-they-often-back-down-we-must/) [Janet Reno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-reno/) > [Of two cowards, the one who finds the other out first has the advantage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italian-proverb/of-two-cowards-the-one-who-finds-the-other-out-first-has-the-advantage/) Italian Proverb > [“Richard had noticed that events were cowards: they didn't occur singly, but instead they would run in packs and leap out at him all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/richard-had-noticed-that-events-were-cowards-they-didn-t-occur-singly/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and I believe continue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-holder/though-this-nation-has-proudly-thought-of-itself-as-an-ethnic-melting/) [Eric Holder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-holder/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) ## More by Mahatma Gandhi > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Devotion required by the Gita is no soft-hearted effusiveness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/devotion-required-by-the-gita-is-no-soft-hearted-effusiveness/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [No nation being under another nation can accept gifts, and kick at the responsibility attached to those gifts, imposed by the conquering nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-nation-being-under-another-nation-can-accept-gifts-and-kick-at-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [So long as we fear the outside world, we must cease to think of Swaraj.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/so-long-as-we-fear-the-outside-world-we-must-cease-to-think-of-swaraj/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I do not want a kingdom, or heaven; what I want is to remove the trouble of the oppressed, the poor, and the needy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-a-kingdom-or-heaven-what-i-want-is-to-remove-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Religions are not for separating men from one another, they are meant to bind them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/religions-are-not-for-separating-men-from-one-another-they-are-meant/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I hold flesh-food to be unsuited to our species. We err in copying the lower animal world if we are superior to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-hold-flesh-food-to-be-unsuited-to-our-species-we-err-in-copying-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was only in South Africa that I got over this shyness, though I never completely overcame it. It was impossible for me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/it-was-only-in-south-africa-that-i-got-over-this-shyness-though-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“Where there is life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/where-there-is-life/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [If it was wrong to seek God in a stone, how was it right to seek Him in a book called the Gita, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/if-it-was-wrong-to-seek-god-in-a-stone-how-was-it-right-to-seek-him/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [The spirit of democracy cannot be established in the midst of terrorism, whether governmental or popular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-spirit-of-democracy-cannot-be-established-in-the-midst-of/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Champions are made from something they have deep inside of them-a desire, a dream, a vison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/champions-are-made-from-something-they-have-deep-inside-of-them-a/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [My motto is "Unite now, today if you can; fight if you must. But in every case avoid British intervention."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/my-motto-is-unite-now-today-if-you-can-fight-if-you-must-but-in-every/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I have no disciples, being myself an aspirant after discipleship and in search of a guru.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-have-no-disciples-being-myself-an-aspirant-after-discipleship-and/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Man becomes not the lord and master of all creation but he is its servant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/man-becomes-not-the-lord-and-master-of-all-creation-but-he-is-its/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) [Explore all 3,284 Mahatma Gandhi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) David Hudgins > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/) [Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) [Browse all 32,707 Character quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Cowards can never be moral.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mahatma Gandhi" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/cowards-can-never-be-moral/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Character" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/cowards-can-never-be-moral/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/870/mahatma-gandhi-23_character_cowards-can-never-be-moral-1905718_1905718.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/870/mahatma-gandhi-23_character_cowards-can-never-be-moral-1905718_1905718.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/870/mahatma-gandhi-23_character_cowards-can-never-be-moral-1905718_1905718.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Cowards can never be moral.” — Mahatma Gandhi", "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": "Mahatma Gandhi", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Cowards can never be moral.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/cowards-can-never-be-moral/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/cowards-can-never-be-moral/#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 } } ] } ```