The strong are strengthened by reverses; the trouble is that the true meaning of events scores next to nothing in the match we play with men. Appearances decide our gains or losses and the points are trumpery. And a mere semblance of defeat may hopelessly checkmate us.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes how appearances and perceptions often influence our understanding of success and failure, overshadowing true meaning.
Antoine De Saint-Exupery highlights the idea that in life, the way events are perceived often matters more than their actual substance. He suggests that while challenges can strengthen us, the superficial interpretations of success or failure can significantly impact our experiences and outcomes. The quote illustrates that what may seem like a defeat could have profound implications, often leading to unexpected consequences based on how we or others perceive it.
In practice
This quote can be used in a motivational speech about overcoming obstacles.
Grown-ups love figures... When you tell them you've made a new friend they never ask you any questions about essential matters. They never say to you "What does his voice sound like? What games does he love best? Does he collect butterflies? " Instead they demand "How old is he? How much does he weigh? How much money does his father make? " Only from these figures do they think they have learned anything about him.
Attitude is a paintbrush. It colors everything!
Water, thou hast no taste, no color, no odor; canst not be defined, art relished while ever mysterious. Not necessary to life, but rather life itself, thou fillest us with a gratification that exceeds the delight of the senses.
In those days, I didn't understand anything. I should have judged her according to her actions, not her words. She perfumed my planet and lit up my life. I should never have run away! I ought to have realized the tenderness underlying her silly pretensions. Flowers are so contadictory! But I was too young to know how to love her.
When a mystery is too overpowering, one dare not disobey.
When the body sinks into death, the essence of man is revealed. Man is a knot, a web, a mesh into which relationships are tied. Only those relationships matter. The body is an old crock that nobody will miss. I have never known a man to think of himself when dying. Never.
Truth is a tyrant-the only tyrant to whom we can give our allegiance. The service of truth is a matter of heroism.
When you try to grasp the way the Western world is going, you see that we are on a ratchet towards a surveillance state, which is coming to include the whole population in its surveillance. This is our reward for accepting the restraints on the way we live now.
Costly thy habit [dress] as thy purse can buy; But not expressed in fancy - rich, not gaudy. For the apparel oft proclaims the man.
In a democracy, someone who fails to get elected to office can always console himself with the thought that there was something not quite fair about it.
My seeking has been to explain and illuminate the Negro condition in America and obliquely that of all human kind.
Occasionally the conflict between 'what we stand for' and 'what we do' has been forthrightly addressed.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.