Intent is not a thought, or an object, or a wish. Intent is what can make a man succeed when his thoughts tell him that he is defeated. It operates in spite of the warrior’s indulgence. Intent is what makes him invulnerable. Intent is what sends a shaman through a wall, through space, to infinity.
—Carlos Castaneda (1925–98) Peruvian-born American Anthropologist, Author
Commonly, people believe that defeat is characterized by a general bustle and a feverish rush. Bustle and rush are the signs of victory, not of defeat. Victory is a thing of action. It is a house in the act of being built. Every participant in victory sweats and puffs, carrying the stones for the building of the house. But defeat is a thing of weariness, of incoherence, of boredom. And above all of futility.
—Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900–44) French Novelist, Aviator
In the time of darkest defeat, victory may be nearest.
—William McKinley (1843–1901) American Republican Statesman, 25th President
Victory or defeat? It is the slogan of all-powerful militarism in every belligerent nation. And yet, what can victory bring to the proletariat?
—Rosa Parks (1913–2005) American Civil Rights Leader
Victory has 100 fathers and defeat is an orphan.
—Common Proverb
There is only one reason for an individual to side-step to the useless side: the fear of a defeat on the useful side.
—Alfred Adler (1870–1937) Austrian Psychiatrist
I give the fight up: let there be an end, a privacy, an obscure nook for me. I want to be forgotten even by God.
—Robert Browning (1812–89) English Poet
What is defeat?—Nothing but education; nothing but the first step to something better.
—Wendell Phillips (1811–84) American Abolitionist, Lawyer, Orator
We are not interested in the possibilities of defeat; they do not exist.
—Queen Victoria (1819–1901) British Royal
We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.
—Maya Angelou (1928–2014) American Poet
If you can’t accept losing, you can’t win.
—Vince Lombardi, Jr. (1913–70) American Football Player, Coach
Defeat may serve as well as victory to shake the soul and let the glory out.
—Edwin Markham (1852–1940) American Poet, Lecturer
Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat.
—F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940) American Novelist
The most essential gift for a good writer is a built-in, shockproof shit detector. This is the writer’s radar and all great writers have had it.
—T. E. Lawrence (1888–1935) British Soldier, Scholar, Writer
The injustice of defeat lies in the fact that its most innocent victims are made to look like heartless accomplices. It is impossible to see behind defeat, the sacrifices, the austere performance of duty, the self-discipline and the vigilance that are there—those things the god of battle does not take account of.
—Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900–44) French Novelist, Aviator
Death is nothing, but to live defeated and inglorious is to die daily.
—Napoleon I (1769–1821) Emperor of France
Defeat is a school in which truth always grows strong.
—Henry Ward Beecher (1813–87) American Clergyman, Writer
There are some defeats more triumphant than victories.
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–92) French Essayist
If you live long enough, you’ll see that every victory turns into a defeat.
—Simone de Beauvoir (1908–86) French Philosopher, Writer, Feminist
To walk through the ruined cities of Germany is to feel an actual doubt about the continuity of civilization.
—George Orwell (1903–50) English Novelist, Journalist
Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.
—Sun Tzu (fl. c.544–496 BCE) Chinese General, Military Theorist
He who fears being conquered is sure of defeat.
—Napoleon I (1769–1821) Emperor of France
Who asks whether the enemy were defeated by strategy or valor?
—Virgil (70–19 BCE) Roman Poet
It is defeat that turns bone to flint, and gristle to muscle, and makes men invincible, and formed those heroic natures that are now in ascendency in the world.—Do not then be afraid of defeat.—You are never so near to victory as when defeated in a good cause.
—Henry Ward Beecher (1813–87) American Clergyman, Writer
When defeat is inevitable, it is wisest to yield.
—Quintilian (c.35–c.100 CE) Roman Rhetorician, Literary Critic
Believe you are defeated, believe it long enough, and it is likely to become a fact.
—Norman Vincent Peale (1898–1993) American Clergyman, Self-Help Author
A defeated wrestler is not tired of wrestling.
—Turkish Proverb
You’ve got to learn to survive a defeat. That’s when you develop character.
—Richard Nixon (1913–94) American Head of State, Lawyer
My lowest days as a Christian [and There Were Low Ones—Seven Months Worth Of Them In Prison, To Be Exact] have been more fulfilling and rewarding than all the days of glory in the White House.
—Charles Caleb Colton (c.1780–1832) English Clergyman, Aphorist
Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.
—Sun Tzu (fl. c.544–496 BCE) Chinese General, Military Theorist