WIST Quotations

Butler, William -- Charles George Gordon, ch. 1 (1891)

Dave — Fri, 30 Apr 2021 18:54:30 +0000

It is the victor who writes the history and counts the dead, and to the vanquished in such a struggle there only remains the dull memory of an unnumbered and unwritten sorrow.

William Butler (1838-1910) Irish British Army officer, writer, adventurer
Charles George Gordon, ch. 1 (1891)
(Source)

Guignard, Alexis -- History of Royalty [Histoire de la Royauté] (1842)

Dave — Fri, 23 Apr 2021 21:53:59 +0000

The history is right perhaps, but let us not forget, it was written by the victors.

[L’histoire est juste peut-être, mais qu’on ne l’oublie pas, elle a été écrite par les vainqueurs.]

Alexis Guignard, comte de Saint-Priest (1805-1851) French diplomat and historian
History of Royalty [Histoire de la Royauté] (1842)
(Source)

Patterson, Floyd -- (Attributed)

Dave — Tue, 05 Sep 2017 19:24:16 +0000

It’s easy to do anything in victory. It’s in defeat that a man reveals himself.

Floyd Patterson (1935-2006) American professional boxer
(Attributed)
(Source)

Quoted in Gay Talese, Fame and Obscurity: Portraits (1970).

Nietzsche, Friedrich -- The Gay Science [Die fröhliche Wissenschaft], Book 3, § 258 (1882) [tr. Kaufmann (1974)]

Dave — Tue, 19 Apr 2016 13:30:55 +0000

No victor believes in chance.

[Kein Sieger glaubt an den Zufall.]

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) German philosopher and poet
The Gay Science [Die fröhliche Wissenschaft], Book 3, § 258 (1882) [tr. Kaufmann (1974)]
(Source)

Also known as La Gaya Scienza, The Joyful Wisdom, or The Joyous Science.

(Source (German)). Alternate translations:

No conqueror believes in chance.
[tr. Common (1911)]

No victor believes in chance.
[tr. Nauckhoff (2001)]

King, Billie Jean -- Billie Jean (1982)

Dave — Thu, 02 Apr 2015 12:53:07 +0000

The trouble with being number one in the world — at anything — is that it takes a certain mentality to attain that position in the first place, and that is something of a driving, perfectionist attitude, so that once you do achieve number one, you don’t relax and enjoy it.

Billie Jean King (b. 1943) American tennis player
Billie Jean (1982)

Shakespeare, William -- Henry VI, Part 3, Act 2, sc. 5, l. 55 (2.5.55) (1591)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

SON: Ill blows the wind that profits nobody.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
Henry VI, Part 3, Act 2, sc. 5, l. 55 (2.5.55) (1591)
(Source)