Subject: “The
Man in the Arena”
It is not the critic who
counts,
Not the one who points out
How the strong man
stumbles,
Or how the doer of deeds
might have done them better.
The credit belongs to the
man who is active in the arena,
Whose face is marred with
sweat and dust and blood;
Who strives valiantly;
Who errs and comes short
again and again;
Who knows the great
enthusiasms, the great devotion,
And spends himself in a
worthy cause.
Who, if he wins, knows the
triumph of high achievement,
And who, if he fails at
least fails while daring greatly....
So that his place shall
never be with those cold and timid souls
Who know neither victory
nor defeat.
....Teddy Roosevelt, address at the Sarbonne, 1910