--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Excuses are the refuge of cowards." description: "\"“Excuses are the refuge of cowards.”\" — William Goldsmith" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e75/william-goldsmith-286961_coward_excuses-are-the-refuge-of-cowards-229152_2291525.jpg" --- # Excuses are the refuge of cowards. ![“Excuses are the refuge of cowards.” quote by William Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e75/william-goldsmith-286961_coward_excuses-are-the-refuge-of-cowards-229152_2291525.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e75/william-goldsmith-286961_coward_excuses-are-the-refuge-of-cowards-229152_2291525.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e75/william-goldsmith-286961_coward_excuses-are-the-refuge-of-cowards-229152_2291525.jpg) > ““Excuses are the refuge of cowards.”” [William Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldsmith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Excuses serve as protection for those lacking courage, allowing avoidance of responsibility. **In simple terms:** Excuses hide cowardice. Key Takeaway Own responsibility, avoid excuses. Themes courage responsibility excuses cowardice self-improvement Mood critical motivational Type coward:0 cowards:0 excuses:1 refuge:0 refuge cowards:0 excuses refuge:0 When to use this quote - workplace - personal goals - relationships Key Concepts psychology ethics Questions to Reflect On - When is an excuse justified? - How can you confront fear without excuses? A Different Perspective Excuses can sometimes be legitimate constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Coward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coward/) [Cowards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cowards/) [Excuses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excuses/) [Excuses Refuge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excuses-refuge-5385972/) [Refuge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refuge/) [Refuge Cowards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refuge-cowards-3467640/) ## Related quotes > [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/) > [“The past is devoid of meaning like the present, and a refuge for cowards.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/the-past-is-devoid-of-meaning-like-the-present-and-a-refuge-for/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [Triangle chokes are the refuge for cowards. I would never stoop to that level of locking my legs around a man and squeezing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chael-sonnen/triangle-chokes-are-the-refuge-for-cowards-i-would-never-stoop-to/) [Chael Sonnen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chael-sonnen/) > [The greatest braggarts are usually the biggest cowards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/the-greatest-braggarts-are-usually-the-biggest-cowards/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [Any man who is a man may not, in honor, submit to threats or violence. But many men who are not cowards are simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-cooper/any-man-who-is-a-man-may-not-in-honor-submit-to-threats-or-violence/) [Jeff Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-cooper/) > [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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italian-proverb/) > [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/) > [“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 Coward quotes > [Only a coward will use a gun to protect and get respect for themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuel-jal/only-a-coward-will-use-a-gun-to-protect-and-get-respect-for-themselves/) [Emmanuel Jal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuel-jal/) > [“The Coward will run away from danger, only to strike in the dark. The Heroine will run through the dark, even though she knows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-a-cleinman/the-coward-will-run-away-from-danger-only-to-strike-in-the-dark-the/) [David A. Cleinman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-a-cleinman/) > [“A thousand times a coward and not once a dead man”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suad-amiry/a-thousand-times-a-coward-and-not-once-a-dead-man/) [Suad Amiry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suad-amiry/) > [Boasting and bravado may exist in the breast even of the coward, if he is successful through a mere lucky hit; but a just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/boasting-and-bravado-may-exist-in-the-breast-even-of-the-coward-if-he/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [“It is true that only a coward can be brave, as a man who feels no fear has conquered nothing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conn-david-iggulden/it-is-true-that-only-a-coward-can-be-brave-as-a-man-who-feels-no-fear/) [Conn & David Iggulden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conn-david-iggulden/) > [If you're a generous person, when you get money and fame, you're going to be more generous. 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Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [My advice to you, if you should ever be in a hold up, is to line up with the cowards and save your bravery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/my-advice-to-you-if-you-should-ever-be-in-a-hold-up-is-to-line-up/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [I found from working on the film that I am a bigot, at times. And that I am also a coward, at times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrence-howard/i-found-from-working-on-the-film-that-i-am-a-bigot-at-times-and-that/) [Terrence Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrence-howard/) > [A coward is the kindest animal; 'Tis the most forgiving creature in a fight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/a-coward-is-the-kindest-animal-tis-the-most-forgiving-creature-in-a/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) [Browse all 1,331 Coward quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coward/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Excuses are the refuge of cowards.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Goldsmith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldsmith/excuses-are-the-refuge-of-cowards/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Coward" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldsmith/excuses-are-the-refuge-of-cowards/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e75/william-goldsmith-286961_coward_excuses-are-the-refuge-of-cowards-229152_2291525.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e75/william-goldsmith-286961_coward_excuses-are-the-refuge-of-cowards-229152_2291525.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e75/william-goldsmith-286961_coward_excuses-are-the-refuge-of-cowards-229152_2291525.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Excuses are the refuge of cowards.” — William Goldsmith", "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": "William Goldsmith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldsmith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Excuses are the refuge of cowards.”", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldsmith/excuses-are-the-refuge-of-cowards/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldsmith/excuses-are-the-refuge-of-cowards/#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 } } ] } ```