A defeated wrestler is not tired of wrestling.
—Turkish Proverb
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
Victory has 100 fathers and defeat is an orphan.
—Common Proverb
Victory and defeat are each of the same price.
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) American Head of State, Lawyer
If you live long enough, you’ll see that every victory turns into a defeat.
—Simone de Beauvoir (1908–86) French Philosopher, Writer, Feminist
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
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
The greatest test of courage on earth is to bear defeat without losing heart.
—Robert G. Ingersoll (1833–99) American Lawyer, Orator, Agnostic
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
There is no defeat except for those who give up.
—Joseph B. Wirthlin (1917–2008) American Mormon Religious Leader
You can learn a line from a win and a book from a defeat.
—Paul Brown (1908–91) American Sportsperson
Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan.
—John F. Kennedy (1917–63) American Head of State, Journalist
Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat.
—F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940) American Novelist
When defeat is inevitable, it is wisest to yield.
—Quintilian (c.35–c.100 CE) Roman Rhetorician, Literary Critic
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
Death is nothing, but to live defeated and inglorious is to die daily.
—Napoleon I (1769–1821) Emperor of France
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
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
—Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American Historian, Political Leader, Explorer
A reformer is one who sets forth cheerfully toward sure defeat.
—Lydia Maria Child (1802–80) American Abolitionist, Writer
I think everyone should experience defeat at least once during their career. You learn a lot from it.
—Lou Holtz (1893–1980) American Stage Performer
Victory is sweetest when you’ve known defeat.
—Malcolm S. Forbes (1919–1990) American Publisher, Businessperson
We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.
—Maya Angelou (1928–2014) American Poet
Defeat is a school in which truth always grows strong.
—Henry Ward Beecher (1813–87) American Clergyman, Writer
I’ve learned that something constructive comes from every defeat.
—Tom Landry (1924–2000) American Football Coach, Player
You’ve got to learn to survive a defeat. That’s when you develop character.
—Richard Nixon (1913–94) American Head of State, Lawyer
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
Those who are prepared to die for any cause are seldom defeated.
—Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) Indian Head of State
If you can’t accept losing, you can’t win.
—Vince Lombardi, Jr. (1913–70) American Football Player, Coach
Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.
—Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American Historian, Political Leader, Explorer
We are not interested in the possibilities of defeat; they do not exist.
—Queen Victoria (1819–1901) British Royal
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