Inspirational Quotations

Inspirational Quotations on Defeat

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

When a man is pushed, tormented, defeated, he has a chance to learn something; he has been put on his wits … he has gained facts, learned his ignorance, is cured of the insanity of conceit, has got moderation and real skill.
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher

Who asks whether the enemy were defeated by strategy or valor?
Virgil (70–19 BCE) Roman Poet

No man is defeated without some resentment, which will be continued with obstinacy while he believes himself in the right, and asserted with bitterness, if even to his own conscience he is detected in the wrong.
Samuel Johnson (1709–84) British Essayist

We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.
Maya Angelou (1928–2014) American Poet

Defeat should never be a source of discouragement, but rather a fresh stimulus.
Robert South (1634–1716) English Theologian, Preacher

We are not retreating—we are advancing in another direction.
Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964) American Military Leader

A defeated wrestler is not tired of wrestling.
Turkish Proverb

Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure.
George Edward Woodberry (1855–1930) American Literary Critic, Poet

For by superior energies; more strict affiance in each other; faith more firm in their unhallowed principles, the bad have fairly earned a victory over the weak, the vacillating, inconsistent good.
William Wordsworth (1770–1850) English Poet

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

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

We are not interested in the possibilities of defeat; they do not exist.
Queen Victoria (1819–1901) British Royal

The defeats and victories of the fellows at the top aren’t always defeats and victories for the fellows at the bottom
Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) German Poet, Playwright, Theater Personality

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

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

A reformer is one who sets forth cheerfully toward sure defeat.
Lydia Maria Child (1802–80) American Abolitionist, Writer

Victory and defeat are each of the same price.
Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) American Head of State, Lawyer

Defeat is a school in which truth always grows strong.
Henry Ward Beecher (1813–87) American Clergyman, Writer

Victory is sweetest when you’ve known defeat.
Malcolm S. Forbes (1919–1990) American Publisher, Businessperson

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 Head of State, Political leader, Historian, Explorer

If you live long enough, you’ll see that every victory turns into a defeat.
Simone de Beauvoir (1908–86) French Philosopher, Writer, Feminist

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

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

Be careful that victories do not carry the seed of future defeats.
Ralph Washington Sockman (1889–1970) American United Methodist Pastor

Victory has 100 fathers and defeat is an orphan.
Common Proverb

I’ve learned that something constructive comes from every defeat.
Tom Landry (1924–2000) American Sportsperson

Those who are prepared to die for any cause are seldom defeated.
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) Indian Head of State

Politics has become so expensive that it takes a lot of money even to be defeated.
Will Rogers (1879–1935) American Actor, Rancher, Humorist

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