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About this quote

What does it mean?
It advises continuing a difficult struggle until death even if it seems futile or leads to defeat.
In plain terms
Keep fighting until the end even if you might die.
What can you take from it?
Persist in your cause until death even if victory seems unlikely.

Where it applies

  • facing impossible odds
  • moral stand
  • reading epic poetry

Putting it to work

  • motivating teams
  • writing about war
  • discussing ethics

Questions to consider

  • What causes are worth dying for?
  • When does persistence become recklessness?

Another view

Dying for a lost cause may seem wasteful to some.

More from Matthew Arnold

  1. Let the long contention cease! Geese are swans, and swans are geese.

    Permalink to quote #99
  2. Coldly, sadly descends The autumn evening. The Field Strewn with its dank yellow drifts Of wither'd leaves, and the elms, Fade into dimness apace, Silent;-hard…

    Permalink to quote #101
  3. Creep into thy narrow bed, Creep, and let no more be said!

    Permalink to quote #98

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