If a victory is told in detail, one can no longer distinguish it from a defeat.
Jean-Paul SartreRead
Better a good journalist than a poor assassin.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that it is more valuable to be skilled in a noble profession than to be incompetent in a harmful one.
Jean-Paul Sartre emphasizes the importance of choosing a career that contributes positively to society over one that inflicts harm, even if the latter might seem more dramatic or impactful. The contrast between a good journalist, who informs the public and has the potential to pursue truth, and a poor assassin, who fails at a morally reprehensible task, highlights the value of integrity and skill in one’s vocation.
Themes
JournalismEthicsProfessionsSkillMorality
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a speech about the importance of ethical careers.
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.
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If you are lonely when you're alone, you are in bad company.
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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.
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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.
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Night is falling: at dusk, you must have good eyesight to be able to tell the Good Lord from the Devil.
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