[h=1]“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”[/h]
Surprisingly similar to Theodore Roosevelt's quote:
[h=2]Theodore Roosevelt > Quotes > Quotable Quote[/h]
Indeed it is. I often wonder why it was shortened to be put on Lasseters grave. I can think of a couple of possible reasons. Either the original version was considered a bit flowery for a dry old bushwhacker, or they couldn't find a piece of stone big enough to engrave it on, or the engraver got daunted, didn't know what half the words meant, and decided to shorten it up a bit.....
I prefer the lasseters version myself, one, for the rougher language, and secondly, it was the first time i had seen the quote, so I suppose it's a bit sentimental.
What inspired Roosevelt to write it in the first place? I've never known. Any idea?
This puts it into context.
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Citizenship_in_a_Republic
It's the seventh paragraph, reading the one before it puts it into context a bit. The whole thing is pretty interesting, to me. Strangely relevant to the forum in some ways, goes on a bit about the American pioneers. He was a long winded blighter though.......
