Saturday Night Food for Thought–Teddy Roosevelt's The Man in the Arena

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.

If you want to read the whole 1910 speech you may find it here.

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Posted in * Culture-Watch, * Economics, Politics, * International News & Commentary, America/U.S.A., Anthropology, History, Office of the President, Politics in General, Theology

One comment on “Saturday Night Food for Thought–Teddy Roosevelt's The Man in the Arena

  1. Kendall Harmon says:

    Paul Giamatti speaks the famous Teddy Roosevelt quote at the end of episode two of Ken Burns’ the Roosevelts on PBS.