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 βAll 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
Similar quotes
I believe in pride of race and lineage and self: in pride of self so deep as to scorn injustice to other selves.
W. E. B. Du BoisRead
In other words, let's give our young women the right weapons to fight with as they charge naked into battle, instead of ordering them to get back in the house and put some goddamn clothes on.
Amanda PalmerRead
A moral coward is one who is afraid to do what he thinks is right because others will disapprove or laugh. Remember that all men have their fears, but those who face their fears with dignity have courage as well.
Thomas S. MonsonRead
I've been through everything. I always said I was like those round-bottomed circus dolls β you know, those dolls you could push down and they'd come back up? I've always been like that. I've always said, No matter what happens, if I get pushed down, I'm going to come right back up.
Doris DayRead
I cannot surrender my principles, though the whole world besides should vote them down - I can make no compromise between truth and error, even though my life be the alternative.
Elijah Parish LovejoyRead
I still suffer terribly from stage fright. I get sick with fear. Not every night, but at the beginning and on occasion - not necessarily when I'm expecting it. You just have to cope with it - take it on the chin and work through it, trying to use the adrenalin to perform.
Helen MirrenRead