The problems of victory are more agreeable than those of defeat, but they are no less difficult.

The injustice of defeat lies in the fact that its most innocent victims are made to look like heartless accomplices. It is impossible to see behind defeat, the sacrifices, the austere performance of duty, the self-discipline and the vigilance that are there, those things the god of battle does not take account of.

There are some defeats more triumphant than victories.

To walk through the ruined cities of Germany is to feel an actual doubt about the continuity of civilization.

Defeat is a school in which truth always grows strong.

It is defeat that turns bone to flint; it is defeat that turns gristle to muscle; it is defeat that makes men invincible.

I give the fight up: let there be an end, a privacy, an obscure nook for me. I want to be forgotten even by God.

My lowest days as a Christian [and There Were Low Ones--Seven Months Worth Of Them In Prison, To Be Exact] have been more fulfilling and rewarding than all the days of glory in the White House.

A man can be destroyed but not defeated.

When the frustration of my helplessness seemed greatest, I discovered God's grace was more than sufficient. And after my imprisonment, I could look back and see how God used my powerlessness for His purpose. What He has chosen for my most significant witness was not my triumphs or victories, but my defeat.