Quote Originally Posted by Sentenal View Post
Well, I disagree with "doing nothing is worse than screwing up", but regardless of that, I don't even think that is applicable here. If you smell a trap, you don't go rushing in. I mean that is just common sense. Whitebeard clearly smelled a trap, and wasn't foolish enough to just rush in.
You likely read it far too literally. The point of the proverb is that if you hesitate in a battle, you will never get the chance to do the right thing either.

What was the trap he smelled? The one that caught him like a sword through his chest because he stayed behind?