If a victory is told in detail, one can no longer distinguish it from a defeat.
Jean-Paul SartreRead
Better to have beasts that let themselves be killed than men who run away.
Interpretation
What this quote means
It's more honorable to face danger or death than to flee from it.
This quote by Jean-Paul Sartre suggests that there is a certain valor in being brave, even in the face of inevitable harm. Sartre contrasts the nature of animals, which accept their fate, with people who might abandon their responsibilities and courage in tough situations, underscoring the nobility of fighting against odds rather than evading them.
Themes
CourageBraveryHonorFearResponsibility
In practice
Example use cases
A motivational speaker may use this quote to inspire an audience to confront their fears.
More from Jean-Paul Sartre
All quotes →All I want is' - and he uttered the final words through clenched teeth and with a sort of shame - 'to retain my freedom.' I should myself have thought,' said Jacques, 'that freedom consisted in frankly confronting situations into which one had deliberately entered, and accepting all one's responsibilities. But that, no doubt, is not your view.
Jean-Paul SartreRead
If you are lonely when you're alone, you are in bad company.
Jean-Paul SartreRead
A kiss without a moustache, they said then, is like an egg without salt; I will add to it: and it is like Good without Evil.
Jean-Paul SartreRead
I wanted pure love: foolishness; to love one another is to hate a common enemy: I will thus espouse your hatred. I wanted Good: nonsense; on this earth and in these times, Good and Bad are inseparable: I accept to be evil in order to become good.
Jean-Paul SartreRead
Night is falling: at dusk, you must have good eyesight to be able to tell the Good Lord from the Devil.
Jean-Paul SartreRead
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