“I spit on my life.
Death in battle would be better for me
than that I, defeated, survive.”
This statement is made in reference to his battle against the personification of temptation to evil, Mara.
Source: Pali Canon, Sutta Pitaka, Khuddaka Nikaya (Minor Collection), (Suttas falling down), Sutta 3.2. Padhana Sutta
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Gautama Buddha 121
philosopher, reformer and the founder of Buddhism -563–-483 BCRelated quotes
“I survive all those battles," she growled, "and I get defeated by a stupid chunk of rock!”
Source: The Last Olympian
[Holmes, Richard, John Pimlott, 1999, The Hutchinson Atlas of Battle Plans: Before and After, Taylor & Francis, 9781579582036, http://books.google.com/books?id=FB1zBuyCQF0C&pg=PA117&lpg=PA117&dq=%22I+shall+not+survive+this+cruel+misfortune&source=bl&ots=ovyO1BCrCg&sig=_acnLcNlnOwVb44Nw-whp8S3Slk&hl=en&ei=pyFKS6SGGcPVlAfQv7wX&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAcQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22I%20shall%20not%20survive%20this%20cruel%20misfortune&f=false]
As quoted in Honor Your Gifts (2007) by Dona M. Deane, p. 199.
Variant: But there is suffering in life, and there are defeats. No one can avoid them. But it's better to lose some of the battles in the struggles for your dreams than to be defeated without ever knowing what you're fighting for
“I know what it's like to battle everyday of my life, just for acceptance, just to survive.”
Source: Water Bound
As "Trudy"
Contributions of Jane Wagner, The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe (1985)
“I would rather be defeated than make capital out of my religion.”
Source: 1880s, Garfield's Words (1882)
page 199
A Million Little Pieces (2003)
“I don't care if they eat me alive, I've got better things to do than survive.”