“I take with me the conscience of defeat as a victory banner.”
Fernando Pessoa book The Book of Disquiet
Ibid., p. 79
Original: Levo comigo a consciência da derrota como um pendão de vitória.
Source: The Book of Disquiet
“I declare, on my soul and conscience, that the attainment of power, or of a great name in literature, seemed to me an easier victory than a success with some young, witty, and gracious lady of high degree.”
Je te le déclare, en mon âme et conscience, la conquête du pouvoir ou d'une grande renommée littéraire me paraissait un triomphe moins difficile à obtenir qu'un succès auprès d'une femme de haut rang, jeune, spirituelle et gracieuse.
The Wild Ass’s Skin (1831), Part II: A Woman Without a Heart
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Honoré de Balzac157
French writer 1799–1850Related quotes
“A bad conscience is easier to cope with than a bad reputation.”
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) German philosopher, poet, composer, cultural critic, and classical philologist
Source: The Gay Science
John McCain (1936–2018) politician from the United States
Appearance on Larry King Live http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0209/24/lkl.00.html, (24 September 2002) <br class="br">2000s, 2002
Charles I of England (1600–1649) monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland
Remark to Prince Rupert of the Rhine in 1646, just before surrendering to Parliament and its New Model Army. As quoted in Early Modern England: A Narrative History (2009) by Robert Bucholz and Newton Key, p. 258
Context: I confess that, speaking as a mere soldier or statesman, there is no probability of my ruin; yet, as a Christian, I must tell you that God will not suffer rebels and traitors to prosper, nor this cause be overthrown, and whatever personal punishment it shall please hi to inflict on me, must not make me repine, much less give over this quarrel... Indeed, I cannot flatter myself with the expectation of good success more than this, to end my days with honour and a good conscience.
Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born physicist and founder of the theory of relativity
1910s
Variant: If my theory of relativity is proven successful, Germany will claim me as a German and France will declare that I am a citizen of the world. Should my theory prove untrue, France will say that I am a German and Germany will declare that I am a Jew. (Address to the French Philosophical Society at the Sorbonne (6 April 1922); French press clipping (7 April 1922) [Einstein Archive 36-378] and Berliner Tageblatt (8 April 1922) [Einstein Archive 79-535])
Variant translation: If my theory of relativity is proven correct, Germany will claim me as a German and France will say I am a man of the world. If it's proven wrong, France will say I am a German and Germany will say I am a Jew.
Variant: If relativity is proved right the Germans will call me a German, the Swiss will call me a Swiss citizen, and the French will call me a great scientist. If relativity is proved wrong the French will call me a Swiss, the Swiss will call me a German and the Germans will call me a Jew.
Context: By an application of the theory of relativity to the taste of readers, today in Germany I am called a German man of science, and in England I am represented as a Swiss Jew. If I come to be represented as a bête noire, the descriptions will be reversed, and I shall become a Swiss Jew for the Germans and a German man of science for the English!