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However things may seem, no evil thing is success and no good thing is failure.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Success and failure are subjective and often misleading in their appearances.

This quote by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow suggests that the true nature of success and failure is not always apparent. It encourages us to look beyond the surface of our experiences, recognizing that what seems to be a failure may actually hold value and that what appears to be success may not be inherently good. Essentially, it challenges us to reconsider our judgments and values in the context of life's complexities.

Themes

SuccessFailurePerceptionRealityJudgment

In practice

Example use cases

In a motivational speech about resilience in the face of setbacks.

More from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

O suffering, sad humanity! O ye afflicted ones, who lie Steeped to the lips in misery, Longing, yet afraid to die, Patient, though sorely tried!
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There are moments in life, when the heart is so full of emotion That if by chance it be shaken, or into its depths like a pebble Drops some careless word, it overflows, and its secret, Spilt on the ground like water, can never be gathered together.
Henry Wadsworth LongfellowRead
Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody.
Henry Wadsworth LongfellowRead
To be seventy years old is like climbing the Alps. You reach a snow-crowned summit, and see behind you the deep valley stretching miles and miles away, and before you other summits higher and whiter, which you may have strength to climb, or may not. Then you sit down and meditate and wonder which it will be.
Henry Wadsworth LongfellowRead
God is not dead; nor doth He sleep; ... _x000D_ The wrong shall fail,_x000D_ The right prevail,_x000D_ With peace on earth, good will to men.
Henry Wadsworth LongfellowRead
In the long run men hit only what they aim at.
Henry Wadsworth LongfellowRead

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