There is no mistake; there has been no mistake; and there shall be no mistake.
Duke Of WellingtonRead
Nothing except a battle lost can be half so melancholy as a battle won.
Interpretation
Winning a battle brings its own sadness and reflection despite the apparent victory.
The quote by the Duke of Wellington suggests that even in victory, there can be deep sorrow and contemplation. While a lost battle is undoubtedly tragic, the pain associated with winning can stem from the realization of loss, sacrifice, and the heavy burdens that come with success. It highlights the complexity of human emotion in the face of achievements, where victory does not always equate to happiness.
In practice
In a discussion about the burdens of leadership during a team victory celebration.
There is no mistake; there has been no mistake; and there shall be no mistake.
All the business of war, and indeed all the business of life, is to endeavour to find out what you don't know by what you do; that's what I called 'guess what was at the other side of the hill'.
The whole art of war consists in getting at what is on the other side of the hill.
Next to a battle lost, the greatest misery is a battle gained.
Next to a lost battle, nothing is so sad as a battle that has been won.
Be discreet in all things, and so render it unnecessary to be mysterious about any.
If at times our actions seem to make life difficult for others, it is only because history has made life difficult for us all.
And I saw that the sacred hoop of my people as one of many hoops that made one circle.
Apocalypse does not point to a fiery Armageddon but to the fact that our ignorance and our complacency are coming to an end. The exclusivism of there being only one way in which we can be saved, the idea that there is a single religious group that is in sole possession of the truthβthat is the world as we know it that must pass away. What is the kingdom? It lies in our realization of the ubiquity of the divine presence in our neighbors, in our enemies, in all of us.
Any man's life, told truly, is a novel.
But, alas! what poor Woman is ever taught that she should have a higher Design than to get her a Husband?
...we must first scrutinize thoroughly anything appearing in our hearts or any saying suggested to us. Has it come purified from the divine and heavenly fire of the Holy Spirit? Or does it lean toward Jewish superstition? Is its surface piety something which has come down from bloated worldly philosophy? We must examine this most carefully, doing as the apostle bids us: 'Do not believe in every spirit, but make sure to find out if spirits are from God'.
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