Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington Quotes

Nothing except a battle lost can be half so melancholy as a battle won.

Victory is fleeting. Losing is forever.

If we'd beaten 'em, I wouldn't be going out.

Next to a battle lost, the greatest misery is a battle gained.

Helplessness induces hopelessness, and history attests that loss of hope and not loss of lives is what decides the issue of war.

Once we have a war there is only one thing to do. It must be won. For defeat brings worse things than any that can ever happen in war.

War is a series of catastrophes which result in victory.

The costs of failure are infinitely greater than the price of victory.

Victory was never in doubt. Only the cost was.

In war, you win or lose, live or die - and the difference is just an eyelash.

One may know how to gain a victory, and know not how to use it.

We will not waver; we will not tire; we will not falter, and we will not fail. Peace and Freedom will prevail.

Only the dead have seen the end of the war.

I just hated to lose.

War is grounded in the notion of triumph and defeat. It is zero-sum.

I have to confess that I have so rarely experienced triumph that I cannot claim to know it well enough to judge, but it seems to be at best a momentary joy followed instantly by sadness, and, then, of necessity, by wariness.

For the victor peace means the preservation of the position of power which he has secured. For the vanquished it means resigning himself to the position left to him.

Conquered, we conquer.

It is always nice to get to finals, but never nice to lose in them.

In war there is no prize for runner-up.

In war, whichever side may call itself the victor, there are no winners, but all are losers.

Loss of hope rather than loss of life is what decides the issues of war. But helplessness induces hopelessness.

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

I ended the war a horse ahead.

War, I have always said, forces men to change their standards, regardless of whether their country has won or lost.