“In order not to be astonished at obtaining victories, one ought not to think only of defeats.”
Napoleon I of France (1769–1821) French general, First Consul and later Emperor of the French
Napoleon : In His Own Words (1916)
“If one thinks only of winning, a sordid victory will be worse than a defeat. For the most part, it becomes a squalid defeat.”
— Tsunetomo Yamamoto, book Hagakure
Hagakure (c. 1716)
Context: People with intelligence will use it to fashion things both true and false and will try to push through whatever they want with their clever reasoning. This is injury from intelligence. Nothing you do will have effect if you do not use truth.
In affairs like law suits or even in arguments, by losing quickly one will lose in fine fashion. It is like sumo. If one thinks only of winning, a sordid victory will be worse than a defeat. For the most part, it becomes a squalid defeat.
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Tsunetomo Yamamoto65
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