--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I always thought Cyrano De Bergerac was a…" description: "\"I always thought Cyrano De Bergerac was a coward. He could fight a hundred swordsmen, but he was afraid of his nose, and he was afraid of Roxanne. Jam ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7c/michael-ventura-16576_artist_i-always-thought-cyrano-de-bergerac-was_1801621.jpg" --- # I always thought Cyrano De Bergerac was a coward. He could… ![“I always thought Cyrano De Bergerac was a coward. He could fight a hundred swordsmen, but he was afraid of his nose, and he was afraid of Roxanne. Jam as cowardly as anybody about facing my fears. So, you spend your you years as an artist fighting those hundred people that you happen not to fear…” quote by Michael Ventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7c/michael-ventura-16576_artist_i-always-thought-cyrano-de-bergerac-was_1801621.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7c/michael-ventura-16576_artist_i-always-thought-cyrano-de-bergerac-was_1801621.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7c/michael-ventura-16576_artist_i-always-thought-cyrano-de-bergerac-was_1801621.jpg) > “I always thought Cyrano De Bergerac was a coward. He could fight a hundred swordsmen, but he was afraid of his nose, and he was afraid of Roxanne. Jam as cowardly as anybody about facing my fears. So, you spend your you years as an artist fighting those hundred people that you happen not to fear. Then you wake up one morning and realize all this time you're afraid of your nose. That's what you're going to have to face for the rest of your life. And you don't feel very courageous. But, if you don't face it, you dry up as an artist.” [Michael Ventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ventura/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artists often fear confronting personal insecurities, mistaking them for larger challenges, which stalls creative growth. **In simple terms:** Fear of self‑criticism blocks artistic progress. Key Takeaway Confront personal flaws to sustain creativity. Themes self‑criticism artistic growth fear identity vulnerability Mood introspective motivational Type inspirational self‑help When to use this quote - writing workshops - painting studios - performing arts - personal therapy - career retrospectives Key Concepts psychology creative process self‑awareness Questions to Reflect On - What personal 'do you hide from your work? - How can you turn perceived flaws into artistic strengths? A Different Perspective Avoiding self‑examination can lead to stagnation and loss of authenticity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Courageous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courageous/) [Dry up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dry-up/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Morning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morning/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Rest of your life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rest-of-your-life/) [Swordsman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swordsman/) [Wake up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wake-up/) ## Related quotes > [“When I get kind of low, I’d think about a verse I learned at one time, when everybody was fighting me. It went something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/when-i-get-kind-of-low-i-d-think-about-a-verse-i-learned-at-one-time/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [“You have no enemies, you say? Alas, my friend, the boast is poor. He who has mingled in the fray of duty that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-mackay/you-have-no-enemies-you-say-alas-my-friend-the-boast-is-poor-he-who/) [Charles Mackay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-mackay/) > [Any coward can fight a battle when he's sure of winning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/any-coward-can-fight-a-battle-when-he-s-sure-of-winning/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“She that will not fight is a coward. She that cannot fight is weak. She that dares not fight is a slave.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-anderson/she-that-will-not-fight-is-a-coward-she-that-cannot-fight-is-weak-she/) [C.J. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-anderson/) > [I'm a charming coward; I fight with words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-reiner/i-m-a-charming-coward-i-fight-with-words/) [Carl Reiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-reiner/) > [Any coward can fight a battle when he's sure of winning; but give me the man who has the pluck to fight when he's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/any-coward-can-fight-a-battle-when-he-s-sure-of-winning-but-give-me/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“(...) then went into his room in the middle of the night after a long, heavy day of footwork and drinking; a coward's fight.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kameron-hurley/then-went-into-his-room-in-the-middle-of-the-night-after-a-long-heavy/) [Kameron Hurley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kameron-hurley/) > [What coward would not fight when he is sure of victory?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-sibbes/what-coward-would-not-fight-when-he-is-sure-of-victory/) [Richard Sibbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-sibbes/) > [I thought you were supposed to be the champion of your people,' I said. I live because I need to do that. For anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/i-thought-you-were-supposed-to-be-the-champion-of-your-people-i-said/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [I realized afterwards that Mountbatten thought I'd be good for my husband. He was our Cyrano de Bergerac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/princess-michael-of-kent/i-realized-afterwards-that-mountbatten-thought-i-d-be-good-for-my/) [Princess Michael of Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/princess-michael-of-kent/) > [“The great error consists in supposing that poetry is an unnatural form of language. We should all like to speak poetry at the moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/the-great-error-consists-in-supposing-that-poetry-is-an-unnatural/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [ I read a lot of summaries about the story \[ based on the Cyrano de Bergerac. \]. I also watched Roxanne, the movie starring Steve Martin. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coco-jones/i-read-a-lot-of-summaries-about-the-story-based-on-the-cyrano-de/) [Coco Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coco-jones/) > [“The alley is a pitch for about twenty women leaning in doorways, chain-smoking. In their shiny open raincoats, short skirts, cheap boots, and high-heeled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sting/the-alley-is-a-pitch-for-about-twenty-women-leaning-in-doorways-chain/) [Sting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sting/) > [Americans stick their nose where it doesn't belong more than Cyrano de Bergerac giving head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-miller/americans-stick-their-nose-where-it-doesn-t-belong-more-than-cyrano/) [Dennis Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-miller/) > [I have a huge promotion: you've heard from me on 'Vantage Point' and also with 'Cyrano Fernandez' - that is a Venezuelan movie that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-ramirez/i-have-a-huge-promotion-you-ve-heard-from-me-on-vantage-point-and/) [Edgar Ramirez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-ramirez/) ## More by Michael Ventura > [“He became a surgeon because he was afraid of knives. He got married because he was afraid of women. He had a child because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ventura/he-became-a-surgeon-because-he-was-afraid-of-knives-he-got-married/) [Michael Ventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ventura/) > [Leave people alone when they tell you to leave them alone. If they mean it, they need it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ventura/leave-people-alone-when-they-tell-you-to-leave-them-alone-if-they/) [Michael Ventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ventura/) > [All paths cause pain, so to chose the safe over the audacious will not give you less pain, only less beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ventura/all-paths-cause-pain-so-to-chose-the-safe-over-the-audacious-will-not/) [Michael Ventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ventura/) > [That's what America's all about, man, if it's about anything. You can choose your own name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ventura/that-s-what-america-s-all-about-man-if-it-s-about-anything-you-can/) [Michael Ventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ventura/) > [“Work is a sacrament. Don't despise anyone's.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ventura/work-is-a-sacrament-don-t-despise-anyone-s/) [Michael Ventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ventura/) > [“In joy, our choices may appear to be few, but one's responses are anything but confined, they're inspired, expanded.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ventura/in-joy-our-choices-may-appear-to-be-few-but-one-s-responses-are/) [Michael Ventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ventura/) > [We have to be realistic about the brutal demands a money culture puts on the psyche, and there is a great cost to this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ventura/we-have-to-be-realistic-about-the-brutal-demands-a-money-culture-puts/) [Michael Ventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ventura/) > [The world of psychology and the world of normal life tends to look down on obsession. It's not good for you, and certainly not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ventura/the-world-of-psychology-and-the-world-of-normal-life-tends-to-look/) [Michael Ventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ventura/) > [Stop tolerating in your leaders what you would not tolerate in your friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ventura/stop-tolerating-in-your-leaders-what-you-would-not-tolerate-in-your/) [Michael Ventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ventura/) > [An artist doesn't depend upon inspiration or have to have it. An artist doesn't depend on mood, certainly not if you're earning your living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ventura/an-artist-doesn-t-depend-upon-inspiration-or-have-to-have-it-an/) [Michael Ventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ventura/) > [I never get my creativity flowing. I'm a pro, this is how I earn my living. If it don't flow, I don't eat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ventura/i-never-get-my-creativity-flowing-i-m-a-pro-this-is-how-i-earn-my/) [Michael Ventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ventura/) > [I require and enforce as non-interrupted a state of living as you can get in America right now without going off to live by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ventura/i-require-and-enforce-as-non-interrupted-a-state-of-living-as-you-can/) [Michael Ventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ventura/) > [When the people clamor to be shielded from reality, when they praise their government for keeping things from them, when they choose to conduct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ventura/when-the-people-clamor-to-be-shielded-from-reality-when-they-praise/) [Michael Ventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ventura/) > [If your vulnerability has become hardened, it's very, very difficult to be creative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ventura/if-your-vulnerability-has-become-hardened-it-s-very-very-difficult-to/) [Michael Ventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ventura/) > [The people you have to lie to, own you. The things you have to lie about, own you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ventura/the-people-you-have-to-lie-to-own-you-the-things-you-have-to-lie/) [Michael Ventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ventura/) [Explore all 39 Michael Ventura quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ventura/) ## More Artist quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [“People in coats and ties were milling around the Talley gallery, and on the wall were the minimally rendered still lifes by Giorgio Morandi,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/people-in-coats-and-ties-were-milling-around-the-talley-gallery-and/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Designers shouldn’t design for museums any more than mummies should die for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-caplan/designers-shouldn-t-design-for-museums-any-more-than-mummies-should/) [Ralph Caplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-caplan/) > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [I am not the avant-garde. I am the artist who comes after the advancing guard. I am more concerned with continuity of ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-oliveira/i-am-not-the-avant-garde-i-am-the-artist-who-comes-after-the/) [Nathan Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-oliveira/) > [I am a horrible visual artist. I can't fix a car, sew, knit, cook, etc. Statistically, there is more I don't do than do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-am-a-horrible-visual-artist-i-can-t-fix-a-car-sew-knit-cook-etc/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) [Browse all 32,600 Artist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I always thought Cyrano De Bergerac was a coward. He could fight a hundred swordsmen, but he was afraid of his nose, and he was afraid of Roxanne. Jam as cowardly as anybody about facing my fears. So, you spend your you years as an artist fighting those hundred people that you happen not to fear. Then you wake up one morning and realize all this time you're afraid of your nose. That's what you're going to have to face for the rest of your life. And you don't feel very courageous. 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