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About this quote

What does it mean?
The victors ride in celebration, but their joy is rooted in the suffering of others.
In plain terms
Winning feels great to the winners, but it comes from destroying others.
What can you take from it?
Celebrate victories carefully, knowing they often involve someone else's loss.

Where it applies

  • after a battle
  • after a competition
  • political victory

Putting it to work

  • reflect on costs of winning
  • consider losers' perspective

Questions to consider

  • What is the cost of your success?
  • Who suffered for your triumph?

Another view

It assumes all victory involves desolation, which isn't always true.

More from Percy Bysshe Shelley

  1. And he wore a kingly crown; And in his grasp a sceptre shone; On his brow this mark I saw - 'I AM GOD, AND KING, AND LAW!'

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  2. My father Time is weak and gray With waiting for a better day; See how idiot-like he stands, Fumbling with his palsied hands!

    Permalink to quote #103
  3. Last came Anarchy: he rode On a white horse, splashed with blood; He was pale even to the lips, Like Death in the Apocalypse.

    Permalink to quote #100

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