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defeat quotes

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“It might be that to surrender to happiness was to accept defeat, but it was a defeat better than many victories.” W. Somerset Maugham, Of Human Bondage
“To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.” Sun Tzu, The Art of War
“In any case you mustn't confuse a single failure with a final defeat.” F. Scott Fitzgerald, Tender Is the Night
“To keep dignity, and give honor where it’s due, so that defeat is not disgrace.” Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game
“The ugly and the stupid have the best of it in this world. They can sit at their ease and gape at the play. If they know nothing of victory, they are at least spared the knowledge of defeat.” Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray
“An army without culture is a dull-witted army, and a dull-witted army cannot defeat the enemy.” Mao Zedong, Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung
“the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory.” Sun Tzu, The Art of War
“There are defeats more triumphant than victories.” Michel de Montaigne, The Essays of Michel de Montaigne
“Another victory like that and we are done for.” James Joyce, Ulysses
“A man can be destroyed but not defeated.” Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea
“The problem for us was to move forward to a decisive victory, or our cause was lost.” Ulysses S. Grant, Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant
“The enemy had been much demoralized by his defeats at Champion's Hill and the Big Black, and I believed he would not make much effort to hold Vicksburg.” Ulysses S. Grant, Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant
“The crimes of the vanquished find their background and their explanation, though not, of course, their pardon, in the follies of the victors. Without these follies crime would have found neither temptation nor opportunity.” Winston Churchill, The Second World War
“He had an idea that even when beaten he could steal a little victory by laughing at defeat.” John Steinbeck, East of Eden
“It was like trying to make a move at chess when you were already mated.” George Orwell, 1984
“A peace is of the nature of a conquest; for then both parties nobly are subdued, and neither party loser.” William Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part 2
“So cowards fight when they can fly no further; so doves do peck the falcon's piercing talons; so desperate thieves, all hopeless of their lives, breathe out invectives 'gainst the officers.” William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 3
“It was Twelfth Night, and the Saxons, who in these days of torment refreshed and fortified themselves by celebrating the feasts of the Church, were off their guard, engaged in pious exercises, or perhaps even drunk. Down swept the ravaging foe....” Winston Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples

Related topics

victory war battle weakness enemy happiness stupidity bravery man peace failure perseverance revenge opportunity laughter frustration destruction culture honor dignity

Related authors

William Shakespeare (2)
Sun Tzu (2)
Winston Churchill (2)
Ulysses S. Grant (2)
Oscar Wilde (1)
George Orwell (1)
F. Scott Fitzgerald (1)
John Steinbeck (1)
Ernest Hemingway (1)
Michel de Montaigne (1)
James Joyce (1)
Orson Scott Card (1)
Mao Zedong (1)
W. Somerset Maugham (1)

Related sources

Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant (2)
The Second World War (1)
A History of the English-Speaking Peoples (1)
The Art of War (2)
Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung (1)
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1)
1984 (1)
East of Eden (1)
Ulysses (1)
The Essays of Michel de Montaigne (1)
The Old Man and the Sea (1)
Tender Is the Night (1)
Of Human Bondage (1)
Ender's Game (1)
Henry IV, Part 2 (1)
Henry VI, Part 3 (1)