You cannot run away from weakness you must some time fight it out or perish and if that be so, why not now, and where you stand?

The line urges moral and psychological courage: personal “weakness” (fear, indecision, bad habits, self-doubt) cannot be permanently escaped by changing circumstances or postponing confrontation. Stevenson frames the choice starkly—either face the inner struggle or be undone by it—then adds a practical imperative: if the battle is inevitable, the rational moment to begin is immediately, without waiting for ideal conditions. The closing phrase (“where you stand”) emphasizes agency in the present and rejects the fantasy that strength will arrive only after a change of place, status, or time.