Pride is founded not on the sense of happiness, but on the sense of power.
William HazlittRead
One is always more vexed at losing a game of any sort by a single hole or ace, than if one has never had a chance of winning it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the emotional investment in competition and the pain of narrowly missing victory.
William Hazlitt's quote underscores the human tendency to feel more frustration and disappointment over a close loss than over a game never played. It illuminates our emotional connection to the hope of succeeding, suggesting that proximity to victory intensifies our feelings of regret and vexation compared to a complete lack of opportunity.
Themes
CompetitionLossFrustrationEmotionHopeVictory
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational talk about sportsmanship and competition.
More from William Hazlitt
All quotes →The world loves to be amused by hollow professions, to be deceived by flattering appearances, to live in a state of hallucination; and can forgive everything but the plain, downright, simple, honest truth.
William HazlittRead
Our repugnance to death increases in proportion to our consciousness of having lived in vain.
William HazlittRead
We can bear to be deprived of everything but our self-conceit.
William HazlittRead
There are few things in which we deceive ourselves more than in the esteem we profess to entertain for our firends. It is little better than a piece of quackery. The truth is, we think of them as we please, that is, as they please or displease us.
William HazlittRead
Prosperity is a great teacher; adversity is a greater. Possession pampers the mind; privation trains and strengthens it.
William HazlittRead
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