
„The important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win, but to take part; the important thing in Life is not triumph, but the struggle; the essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.“
— Pierre de Coubertin Founder of modern Olympic Games, pedagogue and historian 1863 - 1937
As quoted in The Olympian (1984) by Peter L. Dixon, p. 210
Context: The important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win, but to take part; the important thing in Life is not triumph, but the struggle; the essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well. To spread these principles is to build up a strong and more valiant and, above all, more scrupulous and more generous humanity.